First Kiss
by Bethofbells
Summary: One Shot (Edit: so it's not a one shot now, i have a problem) short depicting one possible version of a first kiss. (And now it's a full blown fake date trope) Submitted to castel-lame-o on tumblr in response to a request for everyone's ideas about what a first time Dandy kiss would be like. (also because we need to take our minds off of the impending haitus and its implications).
1. Chapter 1

"Is that what you're wearing?"

Danny looked down at his shirt. "Well, yeah. It's a nice shirt."

Mindy wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, for a trip to the pier to pick up fish at two in the morning. Don't you have something more formal?" She stepped forward and plucked at the front of it.

Danny stepped back quickly. "Hey, keep your hands to yourself. I'll find something else, ok?" He slipped back into his room.

Mindy tapped her clutch against her palm and walked over to mirror hanging by Danny's front door. She'd asked him to go to her parent's anniversary party because she didn't want to show up alone, yet again. She didn't want to field questions about her singlehood from her aunt Gita.

Danny was a perfect choice. He was her best friend, and there were no ulterior motives, but she really had to supervise his clothing choices. Denim on denim was not going to work.

"Is this ok?"

Mindy turned to look at him standing in his bedroom doorway. He was wearing gray slacks and a dark blue button down. She stepped over to him. "Yes, much better, now you don't look like a dock worker. They might actually believe we're dating."

He grimaced. "Alright. I owe you this for getting me out of that sticky situation with Amy, but don't get any ideas."

She stepped up toward him. "You still don't quite look the part. Your hair is a mess. How did you get this 'bed-head' look in the thirty seconds it took you to change?" She reached up and started smoothing down his hair.

He ducked away from her, grabbing at her wrist. "Hey, stop that."

Mindy smiled and started using her free hand to finish the job. He shifted again and grabbed that wrist too. "Seriously, Mindy, stop."

The atmosphere shifted. Danny's eyes were suddenly serious, his hands still cuffed her wrists. "Danny, what…?"

He looked down at her, a serious expression settling over his features. "What's with you and the constant invasions of personal space? It's like you want…" He stopped and swallowed.

"I want what?" She was suddenly breathless. His fingers were still tightly clutching her, holding her close to him.

He pulled her even closer, crushing their bodies together. "This." He captured her lips in his, releasing her wrists only to clutch at her shoulders. The kiss was angry. All of the pent up frustration Danny had felt poured into it.

Mindy responded immediately, sucking hungrily at his lips, slipping her own hands between them to clutch at his shirt.

Danny pulled away, panting. He stared down at her, unsure of what to do. She frowned. "Why'd you stop, Castellano?" 

He hadn't meant to do it. Their proximity tonight had just been the final straw. He stepped away from her and stomped over to the coat rack by his door. Angrily yanking his jacket off the hook. "Come on, Lahiri. We better get a move on or we'll be late."

He opened the door and strode out into the hall, not looking back to see if she followed.

Mindy stood still for a moment, stunned. She touched her lips as a slow smile spread across her face. "Oh, Danny." The grin grew. She hurried skipped out into the hall after Danny.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok, so this was supposed to be a one shot, but I have a disease when it comes to Dandy... I'm trying a new thing. In previous fics, I always wrote at least 2000 words per chapter. I want a different feel for this one, so under 1000 words per chapter now. Maybe they'll move along faster... :D**

Danny flagged a cab, his mind racing. What the hell had he done? He'd snapped, lost his damn mind. Kissing Mindy? He still felt uncomfortably warm. He swiped his forearm across his damp forehead, turning back to the building to see if she'd made it down.

"Hey, buddy, we going somewhere? I've got the meter running, just so you know."

Danny turned back to the cabbie. "Yeah, yeah. Do what you gotta do. She'll be down in minute." He blew out a frustrated breath. Pull it together man.

She didn't freak out when he kissed her. She'd eagerly leaned in, fully participating in his moment of temporary insanity. He'd expected her to pull away quickly, shocked by him making a move. She hadn't. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Danny! You do realize it's _my_ parents' anniversary party that we're going to. You can't leave without me." She was beside him in a matter of seconds, a smug smile on her face.

So that was it? She didn't freak out about the kiss because it meant she had something to lord over him. God, he'd never live it down. He could only imagine the months of 'oh, Danny, remember that time you kissed me' every time they got into an argument.

He stepped away from the cab, holding the door open. "Like I could forget, you've been talking about it all week." New tactic. He would just act like it never happened.

She slipped into the cab and he followed suit. She'd already given rattled off their destination and was sitting back against the slick vinyl of the seat. The smug smile hadn't slipped one bit, only now she was staring at him.

"So, Danny, my friend. How long?" She raised her eyebrows in inquiry.

He frowned at her. "How long what?"

She sighed and flipped her hair dramatically, using her "Narrated by Mindy Lahiri" voice as she posed her question. "How long have you, Daniel Castellano, been madly and deeply in love with me, Dr. Mindy Lahiri?"

Danny, sensing the mockery in her voice, breathed a sigh of relief. She had no idea how precariously close she was to the truth, and that was fine. He rolled his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She snorted. "Oh please, you kissed me like you'd been in the Gobi desert for days, and my lips were the font of a spring at the base of a glacier." She wiggled her eyebrows, nudging him with her elbow.

He took a deep breath, scooting away from her. It was time to fall back on his go to reaction. "Please, I stupidly thought kissing you might shut you up for five minutes, but clearly I was wrong. This is going to be a long drive." He leaned back and crossed his arms, attempting to stretch his legs out a little. "There aren't any glaciers near the Gobi desert."

"Ugh, you're so literal. Have a little imagination." She pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her text messages.

"It's going to take all the imagination I have pretending we're dating. Does your mom really not know about the ever changing roster of losers cycling in and out and in and out of your life?" In his attempt to put a little space between them, Danny was sort of being a jerk, but he couldn't stop. He wasn't ready for her to know the truth.

His comment got the desired reaction. Her head snapped up from her phone, shooting a disgusted look in his direction. "Clearly she knows nothing about my 'roster,' Danny, or I wouldn't be stuck bringing you to this shindig. Although, I do take back that comment about your imagination. Clearly it's running wild right now, if you're equating the men in my life to the number of men on a sports team of some kind."

A sparkle came back into her eyes. "But now that you mention it, I do wonder if she'll even believe that we're dating. You're not even my type." She turned her attention back to her phone, absentmindedly adding, "Much too short… and old."

Danny had lost control of the conversation, as always. "What… we're the same age, and I'm taller than you." Great, now he was trying to prove that he was her type.

"Please, I'm so out of your league. I'm an Ivy League educated doctor, living the dream in NYC. Way too much for you to handle." She didn't bother to look up from her phone.

Danny let his irritation override his judgment. "We literally work at the same practice. By the time I'm done charming the hell out of your family, they're going to wonder how a spinster hooked such a catch."

She smiled and sent him a sidelong glance. "That's what I like to hear. Get your head in the game. Although I'd be careful if I were you. Don't be too charming. You might be the recipient of some unwanted advances." She sent him a cartoonishly lecherous look.

He was uncomfortable again, the collar of his shirt suddenly seeming unnecessarily tight. He ran a finger under it, clearing his throat.

Mindy was completely oblivious to his discomfort. "My aunt Gita is quite the cougar, and she's always on the prowl."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: "Another!" Said the crazy lady who can't stop writing Dandy fics to save her life. Sometimes the story just wants to be written. That's when it seems easy, and the chapters just come one after the other. It's been a while since I've felt that way. Enjoy, and as always please feel free to leave a comment, about anything... about Dandy, about the weather, about the cruelty of Fox... w/e**

After two and a half hours, they arrived at _The Historic Liberty Hotel. _It had been a long and mostly quiet cab ride. Mindy spent the majority of the time catching up on "news" via TMZ, occasionally switching over to Instagram and interrupting Danny's attempts to check baseball stats on his phone.

By the third "Oh look Danny, a cat wearing a bowtie!" he'd cut her off, saying, "No. Animals do not wear clothing. Stop. It's not cute. How much longer do we have?"

He helped Mindy out of the cab and paid the driver. She tried to stop him. "I can't let you do that. This was a ridiculously long trip, and it's my parents' thing." She opened her clutch and frowned, suddenly realizing she'd forgotten her money, oops. "On second thought, you did irritate me all the way here, so I suppose it's a fair trade."

Danny shook his head. "No more comments like that, sweetheart. Wouldn't want aunt Gita to get the wrong idea. From here on out we're 'the happy couple,' right?"

She smoothed down the front of her dress, frowning at all the wrinkles from the cab ride. She looked across at Danny, still looking fresh, and dare she say, inviting, in his completely unwrinkled slacks and button-up. The shirt wasn't even creased where she'd clutched at it. She'd pushed the kiss to the back of her mind when she'd realized he clearly wasn't going to talk about it, but over the past two hours it kept popping up randomly.

"How are you not all rumpled and wrinkly?" She gestured to him as they walked toward the entrance.

Danny laughed. "What did you expect? You're wearing silk. Kind of a silly choice, considering the circumstances."

Mindy narrowed her eyes, peering at him skeptically. She'd never pictured Danny as someone who would note what kind of fabric a woman was wearing. "Uh, yeah, silly…, wait… you know what fabric this is? Who are you?"

"I'm not a caveman. I know what silk is." The memory of her pressed up against him flashed to the front of his mind. Of course he knew she was wearing silk. It was the only fabric that took on the exact temperature of her skin, and felt like water under his hands as they roved over her. He swallowed, hoping she didn't notice how distracted he seemed.

She was lost in thought as they stepped through the entryway, pausing to give their names to the young man stationed there. "Lahiri Anniversary Party. That's down in the meeting room." He quickly gave them directions.

Danny looked around him. They were only in the lobby, but this was probably one of the most highbrow places he'd ever been. Somehow it maintained that historic red-brick Boston feeling, while being sleek and modern at the same time. He felt out of place. "This place is something else, Min."

"It better be. It's costing me a pretty penny." She dug her compact from her clutch and checked her makeup.

Danny looked at her. "You're paying for the venue?"

"It's my gift. My dad loves all things Boston, and my Mother doesn't care as long as it's elegant."

"Wait. I know this place. It used to be a jail, built 150 years ago."

Mindy sighed. "God, you sound just like my father. That's exactly what he said, and he had that same tone of macabre fascination in his voice. What is the appeal? It's just a really old building."

Danny looked around him, fascinated by the architecture as they moved through the building. "History, Min, you can feel it in places like this." He pointed up at the exposed brick walls and iron chandeliers. "Can you at least appreciate the architecture, and the effort that went into keeping the unique ambience?"

She was secretly pleased by his fascination. She'd put a lot of thought into picking out the place. Her father would probably spend all night talking about the same things. Instead of showing her pleasure she rolled her eyes. "Oh, god Danny, please act your age. I do not want people to think I'm a grave robber."

Mindy paused for a moment to take a deep breath, channeling her inner warrior. She mumbled something to herself, but was pulled out of her meditations by Danny's elbow digging into her ribs. "What are you doing?"

"My family can be a bit much sometimes. I love them, dearly, but there are a lot of expectations that I don't adhere to, and it's a constant… well, thing. I don't know how to explain it. I'm psyching myself up, and praying that they have alcohol."

For the first time in all the years Danny had known her, Mindy looked nervous. He felt compelled to ease her mind. "It can't be that bad. You have a 'boyfriend' this time, at least. And you look great." The last bit slipped out involuntarily.

She smiled and hooked her arm in his. "Lead the way, my love." She smiled and for the first time tonight forgot about the anxiety she'd been carrying around.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Chugging along. This "one shot" has collected quite a few chapters... I think I'm building up to something good. We'll see. As always, please feel free to leave comments about whatever you like. I find them encouraging, even it they're criticisms, because they mean that people are reading this, and that they care about where it goes.**

As soon as Mindy and Danny entered the main meeting hall of the hotel, her mother honed in on her, breaking away from a gaggle of confident and beautiful older women, who all looked a little like Mindy in varying degrees.

She approached the couple with a bright smile spread across her face and drew Mindy in for an enthusiastic hug. "My baby. I'm so glad you've arrived." Her voice only slightly accented by the tinge of some exotic flavor, barely noticeable. "Your father has gotten lost in the cavernous space, going on and on about bricks and bars. I have no idea what he's talking about."

She leaned back, still holding onto Mindy's forearms. After a quick once over, taking in the chartreuse silk dress and its deep purple accent belt, she raised her eybrows. "You look nice. A bit bright for my tastes, but I've long since given up trying to tone down your look." Her gaze wandered over to Danny. "Are you going to introduce us?"

Mindy swallowed, adopting her story telling cadence of speech. "Mother, this is Danny Castellano, my boyfriend. He's a doctor in New York, an OBGYN like me." Danny had stepped closer to her during the introduction, slipped his arm behind her, settling his hand on her hip. "And this is my mother, Amarita Lahiri."

Danny leaned forward, offering his hand to Mindy's mother. "Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Lahiri. Mindy always speaks very lovingly of her family."

Amarita smiled, giving Danny the same once over she'd given Mindy. "Ah, call me Ama, everyone else does. You must be someone very special to my daughter, even though she has said nothing about you. We never get to meet any of the men she dates, not that there have been all that many." She laughed.

Danny laughed too, but for an altogether different reason. Mindy discreetly nudged him with her elbow. He stopped mid-chuckle and cleared his throat. "Um, yeah. We've definitely been dating… and whatnot." God he was a terrible liar. He lapsed into silence, hoping Mindy would take the lead on this one.

She got the hint and plunged into an explanation. "Oh, mom, you know how it is. Being in love. No one else exists." She leaned her head on Danny's shoulder, doing her best to look smitten. There was this silent struggle between the two women.

Ama knew something was up. Mindy was always playing games like this. Ama wanted grandchildren, and soon. The last three family get-togethers had also doubled as blind dates for her daughter, not that Mindy had known. Ama had invited another eligible young man tonight as well. Ok, not so young, it was getting harder to find the young ones. The appearance of Danny had thrown a wrench into her plans. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

Danny looked nervously back and forth between Mindy and her mother. What the hell was going on? He could feel the muscles in her back tense up each time she cheerfully said something. He gave her an encouraging squeeze with the hand resting on her hip. She glanced up at him, a little surprised, but mostly pleased, then turned her attention back to her mother.

Ama cast another shrewd look at Danny. "Well, Mindy, it's too bad you didn't tell me you were bringing your new love. I wouldn't have invited Nicolas. He's such a nice man, too."

Mindy's smile strained a little bit. "A nice man? And by nice, do you mean in his late sixties, like last time?"

Ama clucked her tongue. "It's that kind of sass that men like Nicolas don't need in their life. Perhaps it's best you've got Danny." She focused on him. "My dear, I don't know how I raised such a fiery daughter."

Danny grinned. "I don't know, I kind of like it. Things are never boring with Mindy around."

Ama laughed. "That's true. One time I got a call from the principal of her middle-school because she started a riot in the cafeteria over the use of non-dolphin-safe tuna."

Mindy sighed. "Ok, mom, that's enough. Danny doesn't need to hear every single anecdote about my childhood."

Danny straighted up. "Oh, Min, you know it would – "

She cut him off. "As a matter of fact, why don't you go to the bar and see if you can get them to pour me a glass of rosé or something?"

Ama was still watching their interaction curiously. Danny was fully aware of her observation. He nodded to Mindy, pausing a moment. He looked down at her lips, remembering the way they yielded under his own. He could kiss her again, right? They were putting on a show. This time it could be a sweet and soft kiss. The kind that people who've been together forever give without even thinking.

"Sure, hon." He leaned down and kissed her quickly but gently. His left hand lightly grazing her cheek, and resting briefly under her chin for a second before withdrawing. He turned to Ama. "Again, it was nice meeting you. I can't wait to hear all about Mindy's misadventures."

The kiss had surprised Mindy, for a moment she'd forgotten about the conversation with her mother. She just watched him as he walked away, barely catching herself before she let out a contented sigh. Suddenly remembering her mother's presence, she turned back around.

Ama had her eyebrows raised again. "You know, I had thought you were up to something. I know you hate it when I set you up, but now I don't know. Danny seems like a nice young man."

She drew Mindy close to her side and began walking to the front of the hall. "I'm glad you've finally found someone you want us to meet." She waved at Mindy's father. He was sitting at a large table surrounded by a large group of men. "Ooh, looks like our father has finished with his grand tour of this place. We should go let him know you've finally found his future son-in-law." She grinned mischievously at her daughter, her tone only half joking.

Mindy rolled her eyes as her mother dragged her along, but she couldn't help but wonder at the fuzzy feeling permeating her body.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Wow. Thanks for all of the reviews on the last chapter. I'm loving this story. (I got kind of tired of the other ones I was writing). It's so much easier writing shorter chapters, I had no idea how limiting the long ones were beginning to get for me. I like exploring the idea of Mindy coming to grips with what's going on between the two of them, trying to figure out what it is, and having her be uncertain of her affections being returned... so that's where I'm going (not there yet, btw). As always, I love your reviews. Feel free to leave suggestions or comments.**

Mindy and Danny were seated at a large table with Rishi, her parents, and a slew of other relatives. Rishi's discomfort with his formal attire amused Mindy endlessly. Whenever he was around their parents he completely dropped the 'aspiring rapper' look. He looked so much younger in a jacket and tie.

He was sitting to her left, suspiciously eyeing the happy couple beside him. "So, you two started dating…. when exactly?" He reached over and picked up Mindy's glass of wine, taking a sip from it when their parents weren't looking.

Mindy reclaimed her glass and glared at her brother. "A couple months now, why?"

"Oh, no reason, just idle curiosity. Didn't you two, like, hate each other the last time I visited you?" He had returned to sipping on his water.

Everyone was waiting for the food to be served, so there wasn't a lot for Mindy to distract herself with. She took another swallow of her wine. She clenched her jaw a little bit. "Oh, you know. Opposites attract, and all that stuff. Haven't you ever seen a romantic comedy?"

Rishi narrowed his eyes, and leaned in close to his sister, whispering. "What are you up to?"

Mindy let out an annoyed huff. She whispered back at him. "Alright, you caught me. Danny is my decoy. Now get off my back before I start talking about you wanting to drop out of school."

Danny noticed Mindy's tense exchange with her brother. He smiled to himself. Rishi was a perceptive kid. He rested his hand on the back of Mindy's chair, idly toying with then ends of her hair. He was really starting to get into this charade. It was like a free pass for him. He wanted to know what it would be like to be linked to her, for it to be ok for him to idly caress her hand when they were talking, or have her lean on him when she was tired. To have people look at them as a couple.

A sudden tinkling caught everyone's attention. It was Mindy's Aunt Gita tapping her fork on the champagne flute in her hand. Of all Mindy's aunts, Gita was perhaps the most interesting. She was a tall slender woman, with high cheekbones and dark arching eyebrows. A beauty in her youth, little of it had been lost to age. Her smoky voice rang out across the room. "I would like to make a toast, to the happy couple. Thirty five years of marriage is nothing to take lightly. To be honest, I didn't think it would last thirty five _days_. I'm happy to be proven wrong." She smiled.

Ama smiled, and nudged Mindy's father playfully. Gita continued, "Ama and Sunil don't look at each other the same way they did thirty five years ago, and that sounds like it might be a bad thing, but I assure you, it is not. Ama and Sunil barely knew each other when they got married, they were strangers, full of hope, but strangers nonetheless." She took a sip of the champagne in her hand. "They're no longer strangers. They're lovers, they're parents, they're partners, but most importantly, they're friends. We could all learn a thing or two from Ama and Sunil. Cheers!"

Mindy raised her glass. Friends. In the past she'd completely underestimated how important it was to truly be friends with the people she dated. It seemed like a lot of effort to put in, especially if there was a chance that it might not work anyway.

She set her glass down and looked at Danny. He was casually chatting with one of her uncles sitting to his right. He was leaning over, listening intently, but his arm was still stretched toward her, resting on the back of her chair.

He could feel her looking at him, and he wondered what she was thinking. He finished his conversation with her uncle and turned back to her. "Danny, are we friends?"

He raised an eyebrow. "We've been over this. We're friends. Do you honestly think someone who wasn't your friend would be here right now?"

She tilted her head to one side and studied him. He was so relaxed. She attributed that to the couple glasses of wine she'd already seen him consume, but it was something else too. He usually had this general tension about him that was no longer present.

She had been staring at him with an odd expression for several minutes. He looked confused. "Mindy, are you alright?" He reached up and pressed the back of his left hand to her cheek, presumably checking her temperature. It was such a caring gesture. Mindy felt her heart do a little flip. What was going on?

She reached up and grabbed his hand, holding it still against her face for a moment. "Thank you. I'm fine. Really."

The strange spell over them was broken when the lights suddenly faded down, and music started playing in the background. Mindy groaned, releasing Danny's hand and slouching in her chair. "Ugh, obligatory anniversary slide show. Prepare to be bored out of your mind."

Danny continued to stare at her in the dimness, wishing he could see the expression on her face more clearly. When she'd grabbed his hand, he'd stopped breathing for a moment. All he could think about was how he wanted to plant yet another kiss on her, this time drawing it out as long as possible. He wondered if she knew she was playing with fire.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: And so the story continues... and progresses? Btw I loved tonight's episode, and am completely and irrevocably in love with Daniel Castellano. I'm not even annoyed that Mindy and Danny were apart for almost the entire thing. Richie/Danny was great. Here's some nice Dandyness to make up for the seeming lack of Dandy tonight. As always comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. I love hearing what you all think about Danny and Mindy. **

Mindy buried her face in her hands, mumbling against them. "Oh, god, why so many baby pictures? It's _their_ anniversary for pete's sake." She groaned.

The lights came back up and the waiters began serving their food. Danny laughed at Mindy's dramatics. "So, when were you going to tell me you were the fattest baby to ever exist?"

Rishi heard Danny's comment and decided to chime in. "That's nothing. All the aunts used to call her 'little jelly belly' for obvious reasons."

Danny's smile widened. "Oh really?"

Mindy didn't like the sound of that 'oh really.' It sounded like a man tucking ammunition into his belt. She sharply turned to him. "Something funny, Danny? I wasn't the only one who was an adorably chubby child." She snatched her phone off the table and started scrolling through the pictures.

She turned to Rishi. "Look at this." She showed Rishis the photo she'd snapped while at Stevie's. "I'm sure there were some embarrassing nicknames in his childhood too."

Danny leaned closer to her to see the photo on the phone. His arm was still draped across the back of her chair, brushing against her back as his shifted forward. Mindy suddenly felt surrounded by him, she could feel the warmth radiating from him, and fought the urge to fan herself.

Danny grabbed the phone out of her hand. "When did you take that?" He sounded annoyed. Before she could answer. "Wait, I told you to delete that."

Mindy, still absorbed in Danny's nearness didn't hear what he was saying. She didn't respond. Rishi observed the two of them, rolling his eyes. "Mindy, god, you were right when you said you two would have the fattest little Indian-Italian children."

That snapped Mindy back to the present. Her eyes flew wide open as Danny pulled back from her. Her mind was racing. She felt like a deer caught in headlights. "Uh, well, you know, that was a long time ago, um, after I saw those pictures, and Rishi was asking about work, and then I remembered that couple who wanted your, um, genetic material, and I was just thinking…" She was stammering, her face was burning. She really should feel strange about this. The actual conversation she'd had with her brother had been rather innocuous, but she still felt caught out.

Danny was staring at her with an odd expression on his face. She'd almost expected him to either completely brush the comment off, or to be offended at her presumption. She hadn't expected him to stare at her like this, his lips set in a half formed oh.

Mindy jumped when she felt a hand drop on her shoulder. She looked up at her Aunt Gita, eyes still wide and embarrassed. Gita smiled down at her. "Darling, what kind of conversation are you having that leaves such a strange look on your face?"

Mindy was still suffering from atypical speechlessness. Rishi stuck his nose in again. "Well, her and her _boyfriend_ were discussing what they're future children would look like. 'Adorably chubby' seems to be the go to description." He smiled impishly at his sister.

Mindy looked back and forth between Danny and her aunt. He had relaxed again, a small half smile forming on his lips. Turning to Gita, he said, "She's kind of getting ahead of herself, as usual, but I like her enthusiasm." He moved his hand over to Mindy's and caught it in his, raising it to his lips, dropping a light kiss on it. "To quote her favorite singer, I'd have to put a ring on it first."

Mindy swallowed. Whoa. What the hell was Danny doing? He was acting, right? Playing the part she'd asked him to, but now there were butterflies in her stomach and she found it impossible to speak. She just kept looking back and forth between the two people talking.

Gita let out a peel of ribald laughter. "Oh, Mindy, you are so lucky to have finally found someone who gets you." She leaned down and kissed her niece on the cheek, before turning to Danny and doing the same. "I'll leave you two to your planning." She sauntered off back to one of the other tables.

Mindy felt dizzy. "It's an understatement to call Beyoncé a singer, Danny. She's a performer."

He smiled back at her, not even taking the bait. She needed him to start talking about Springsteen or something, so she could regain her footing. He didn't oblige. "Whatever you say, Min."

He leaned forward, stopping an inch from her face. He whispered to her. "Both of your parents are watching us very intently right now. I'm going to kiss you, and you don't need to act like you're annoyed or repulsed, ok?"

She wasn't breathing. She just nodded at him, her eyes drifting closed. He didn't dive in like she expected. She felt a feather light touch at her neck, his thumb brushing across her pulse as he leaned forward. Still, he didn't immediately kiss her. He brushed up against the side of her nose with his own, letting out a small sigh against her lips.

Just when she was about to let out a frustrated whimper or even beg him to just do it, he caught her lips with his, plucking gently at them before deepening the kiss and pulling her to him.

She forgot where they were, that there was a giant hall full of friends and family chattering noisily around them, eating delicious food and congratulating her parents. No, she could have been at the South Pole for all she cared.

Danny broke away, leaning back to look at her. She held her eyes closed for a moment, not wanting to remember that this was all a ruse. Not wanting to be reminded where she was. When she finally opened them, Danny had resumed his normal behavior, digging into the food now sitting before him as though nothing had happened, as though blowing her mind with a gentle kiss was the norm.

She let out a long breath, turning her attention to the plate in front of her, completely disinterested in the food, she reached over and grabbed her glass of wine. There was a feeling forming. It was familiar, she'd felt it many times before. It was a desire, not unlike what she'd felt in the past for other men, yet different somehow, there was a sharp edge to it this time. It seemed so necessary, and she wondered how it had escaped her attention for so long. She motioned for the waiter to refill her glass. This was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Soooo. I'm crazy amazed at the reviews/comments that last chapter got. Thank you all so much. I really don't know how to explain how much it means to me when people have the urge to comment on the stuff that I've written. I'm really liking this fic right now. Here's one more chapter. I typically write with an omniscient voice, and not from one specific character's point of view, but I do try to either focus on either Mindy or Danny's thoughts and feelings per chapter. This one is a Danny chapter... the next one will be a Mindy one I think. I'm going to be away for the next two days (eating a ton of turkey and arguing with my family), so there won't be a chapter until (at the very earliest) Friday night. As always, please feel free to leave comments. I adore hearing what you have to say.**

Danny was happy. In the back of his mind he knew it was ridiculous. It wasn't real, but somewhere along the line he had decided to take what he could get. He could lose himself in the imaginary for one night. He wasn't risking anything doing it this way. The possibilities of the night stretched out before him in an endless array.

He glanced at Mindy out of the corner of his eye, surreptitiously gaging her reaction to the kiss. She looked thoughtful as she touched her lips with her free hand before she downed the rest of her wine. So, she wasn't unaffected. Danny felt himself smiling as he devoured the food on his plate with gusto, occasionally turning and chatting with Mindy's uncle about baseball, while Mindy interrogated Rishi about various things.

As dinner wound down, Danny felt her staring at him again. It was a warm tingling sensation on the back of his neck, one that he'd been experiencing for months now every time she walked into a room. He turned to her, glancing down at her plate. Her food was basically untouched. "Are you ok?"

She toyed with the glass of wine, recently refilled by an attentive waiter. "Yeah, um, I'm fine." She picked it up and took a swing. "Perfect actually. You've charmed my family. They no longer thing I'm a hopeless spinster. They have hope for grandchildren. False hope, but whatever." She absentmindedly swished around the wine in the glass before shrugging and gulping the rest of it down.

She leaned back in her chair, waiving her arm in the air, trying to get the waiter's attention again. She'd already had several glasses by now, and was feeling strangely melancholic, yet also uninhibited. "Yoo hoo. Waiter person." She picked up her glass and gestured to the wait staff with it.

Danny put his hand on the flailing arm, drawing her back toward himself. "I think maybe more wine is a bad idea. You really want to make a scene at your parents' anniversary party?"

Mindy did her best impression of a sober person, sitting ramrod straight with her shoulders squared to Danny. "Who said anything about making a scene?" She blinked at him, her face the embodiment of innocence.

The waiter had made his way back over to their table, holding the bottle of wine like a baby. Danny waived him off. Mindy frowned at Danny, but didn't call out. He looked at her knowingly. "I don't know. You plus copious amounts of alcohol in a public venue usually ends in a scene." He smiled at her, reaching over and squeezing her shoulder, hoping to elicit a similar response.

She raised her head slightly, looking up at him through slightly hooded eyes, a little twitch at the corner of her mouth the only sign of her slight shift in mood. "Danny, that's literally the most apt description of my social life I've ever heard. You should be a writer." She flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "But when you write me, I need to be six inches taller and married to a senator, or maybe Anderson Cooper… Although there are just some liberties a memoirist shouldn't take. Oprah might call you out on that one."

She drifted off, and Danny laughed. He was glad she snapped back so quickly. He didn't like a melancholy Mindy. He hated it when she began to sound hopeless about her future, and he certainly didn't know how to reassure her. He could only tell her she would eventually find some great guy. He could tell she only half believed him when he said it. Each time, he found it more difficult not to shake her. He was right here.

Somewhere in the hall music struck up. Mindy perked up, her eyes sparkling as a bright smile spread across her face. Danny felt a pain in his chest as his heart constricted. He felt a lump in his throat, and breathing suddenly seemed like an impossibility. He'd had no idea he was this far gone.

She scooted her chair away from the table, grabbing Danny's hand. "Oh, this is where you can shine. Show my relatives what a catch I have. Distract them with your moves so I don't have to hear about my cousin Vera's pretentiously perfect husband, and their irritatingly flawless children."

She almost bounced along, excitedly bobbing to the music already, dragging him behind her to the dance floor. There were already a few other couples dancing along the edges of the open area, but Mindy pulled Danny all the way out to the center.

She pulled him close to her, attempting that awkward middle school dancing she always did when she was slightly tipsy. "Oh, god, Danny. Let's hope your dance skills are contagious. I'm just tipsy enough to be fighting the urge to do the hustle." She laughed up at him.

He was still feeling overwhelmed by his realization, but Mindy's enthusiasm relaxed him. He looked down at her. Yeah, they weren't together, not really, and tomorrow she'd probably be texting him about some 'hot' guy she met in line at the deli, but right now she was encircled in his arms, with a huge smile across her face. It is what it is. He'd take that, for now.

He quickly rearranged their limbs into a semblance of proper dance positions, and ran his hand down her side, letting it rest on her hip. He pulled her along, leading her in the steps, resulting in a semi-coordinated pattern.

The music picked up pace and so did they. Hips swinging, shoulders dipping, they traversed the dance floor. Danny spun her once, and Mindy, a bit dizzy, clung to him when she returned, nearly breathless. She laid her head on his shoulder. "I think I may have had too much wine for this. My head is spinning. Can we slow down for a second?"

Danny complied, guiding her over to the corner, not letting go though. As if on cue, the music changed. A slow piano melody tinkled over the air. Mindy relaxed, still breathing slightly heavily. She sighed into Danny's shoulder where her head still rested. "This was a good night. I can't remember when spending time with my family ever went this well."

Danny closed his eyes, and swayed with her. "Your family loves you. They just want you to be happy." His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close. "I do too, Min."

Mindy pulled back from him, giving him a serious look, her eyes questioning. "You do too… what?"

Danny frowned slightly. "Want you to be happy." He was confused. He didn't understand what had prompted her strange look. He quickly went back over their conversation in his head. Suddenly it hit him. It had sounded like he was telling her he loved her. That's what she'd heard.

He swallowed, deciding to pretend he had no clue why she was looking at him like he had antlers growing out of his head. "Why wouldn't I want you to be happy?"

Mindy's face relaxed a little, a fleeting look of disappointment chasing across it, gone so quickly Danny wasn't sure if it had actually ever been there. "Oh." She laid her head back on his shoulder.

Danny was kicking himself. He was so inept at saying what he felt. He sighed. "I'm glad you had a good time tonight."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm back! After an annoying two days with family, I decided that a quick Dandy chapter would be the best thing to make me feel better... so the story continues. I adored the comments I got on the last chapter, and encourage everyone to feel free to leave more. I love hearing what you think about Danny/Mindy and where their going.**

Mindy felt warm. Too warm. The flush of alcohol still on her skin, Danny's body heat radiating around her. The desire she'd experienced before returned, this time magnified by their proximity. She couldn't lie to herself. She'd always found him attractive, but she'd never experienced this yearning for him. She attributed it to the combination of alcohol and the playacting they were doing.

She was just inhibited enough to act on the attraction though, and found herself thinking about the things they could do. Standing here, wrapped in his arms, she couldn't help but marvel at how well they fit together, the need pooling in her.

Her head still on his shoulder, she turned slightly and placed her lips against his neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell good, Danny."

She felt him stiffen and pull away. "What are you doing?"

She looked up at him innocently. "Just playing along, that's all." She turned her attention back to his neck, sliding the palm of one hand up his chest.

Danny reached up and grabbed her wrist in an attempt to stop what she was doing. He found himself unable to speak though, incredibly turned on by her soft lips against his skin. "Min –"

They were playing a dangerous game, and if continued like these he would soon be in an embarrassing predicament. Just as he was mustering the wherewithal to push her away, a familiar velvety voice intruded on the tableau. "Mindy, darling, your mother wanted me to come give you this."

Mindy reluctantly pulled away from Danny to face her aunt. Gita was holding out a key with an intricate little wrought iron fob dangling off of it. She squinted at it. "What is that?"

Gita smiled at her, noting the flush creeping up Danny's neck and the sheen of perspiration across his brow. She laughed slightly. "You two obviously need a room." She chuckled. "Ama provided."

Mindy's eyes widened in embarrassment. "Mother did _not_ say that." She stared intently at Gita.

"Well no, but I took that to be her meaning. She did say she wanted you two to come to brunch in the morning, and felt bad about asking you to drive back down from New York again." Gita was still holding out the key, she jangled it, clearly wanting Mindy to grab it.

Mindy cast her gaze across the room, looking for her mother and father. "Where is my mom? I've barely spoken to her all night."

Gita waived her hand in the air dismissively. "Oh, your parents have been monopolized by the many acquaintances you invited to this thing. I think they may have snuck off for a little private time. You did book them a room here." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Mindy.

Mindy wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, ok, that's enough. I guess it would be nice to spend some time with them tomorrow."

At first, Mindy wanted to decline, to make up some excuse, but an idea began to form in her mind. She didn't know what this thing with Danny was, but in all likelihood it was just a weird physical attraction, brought on by his charming attitude tonight, and, she could admit, the talk of having children. What better way to find out what this was than to get him alone?

She bit her bottom lip, taking a brief moment to think about the ramifications, quickly ignoring them. "They never invite me to brunch. Last year on Easter she specifically told me, 'Mindy, dear, brunch is for the adults.'" Even though it was her plan to get Danny alone, there was also a small part of her excited at the prospect of brunch with the "adult" Lahiris. It was a tradition in which she'd never been included.

She turned to Danny, affecting her best begging expression, the one with the quivering bottom lip and big eyes. "You don't have anything planned for tomorrow, do you, sweetie?"

Danny was trapped. He knew he could easily beg off, say he had a C-section in the morning, or that he'd planned on visiting his mother, but when he tried to form the words nothing happened. He wasn't an impulsive person, but everything he'd done tonight had been spontaneous, and he had regretted none of it. He told himself to live in the moment just once. "No, nothing at all."

Mindy snatched the key dangling from Gita's grasp, bouncing on her toes slightly. She turned to Danny and threw her arms around his neck, planning a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Dan. I'm going to grab our coats from the coat check room, meet me by the elevators in the lobby."

Danny was left standing slightly dazed by what had just transpired. Gita stepped forward and placed her hand gently on his arm. "Oh, you poor man, what have you gotten yourself into?"

He blinked, coming back to his senses. "Uh, what?"

Gita laughed as she drew him along, walking back to the entrance of the hall. "I know Mindy hasn't been totally honest about this whole thing, and she has good reason too. Ama and Sunil are a bit unrealistic sometimes. They had an arranged marriage, and found it to be wonderful. They can't understand why their daughter won't accept one of the men they pick, so they keep trying. It's good-intentioned, but Mindy is a modern woman. She has her own ideas about love."

Danny frowned. They did this every time? He'd always wondered why Mindy had dragged her feet so much lately when it came to visiting her family. In the past she'd been very bubbly and happy when talking about seeing her parents, but in the last year or so the tone had changed.

He figured maybe it was because she was beginning to lose hope in finding someone her own way. Was there a chance that she was considering giving in to them? The idea made Danny feel a little light headed. He turned to Gita. "Mindy may have been a little deceitful with you all, but I haven't faked anything tonight. Everything I've said and done is the truth of the matter."

She nodded, smiling. "That I can see." She patted his arm again. "You're a very nice young man."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: And yet another chapter... This one is building some anticipation, and trying to zero in on Mindy's thoughts a little bit. Another short one (that's how i'm doing this fic, it seems to be working). I appreciate all of the feedback I've been getting, and be sure I do take it into account. As always feel free to leave comments or suggestions as often as you like.**

Mindy placed her hands on either side of the sink, leaning forward to peer at herself in the mirror. Not bad. Slightly glassy expression, maybe from one too many glasses of wine, the effects of which were starting to wear off. Mindy felt an unexpected nervousness in her stomach, a flock of overexcited seagulls making themselves known. A flock of seagulls? She laughed. Ok, maybe the alcohol was still in her system.

But she was beginning to second guess her plan. She had wanted to pull Danny into a situation where it only seemed natural for them to fall into bed, to maybe have mind-blowing sex, and get him out of her head. Because that was all this was, right? Just some unsolicited physical attraction brought on by their affectation of love.

She took a deep shaky breath and closed her eyes. When he'd kissed her, the first time, she'd felt a pulse in her body, swiftly chasing from her lips to that dark place deep inside of her. Some highly flammable liquid pooled in her suddenly igniting. He'd attacked her lips, angrily, and she'd responded in kind. She would have been happy to be dragged into his bedroom, forgetting the rest of the night, but he hadn't.

If he had, it would have been easy to enjoy it, and later write it off as being a "heat of the moment" type of thing. He'd been annoyed with her. She'd been picking at him all day in that way she always did, that way she found so pleasurable. It was different now. It had been different since that second kiss. That's what was getting her all bent out of shape. What was that? It had been downright methodical. She could still feel the brush of his hand against her throat, the keen sensation of desire for him stabbing her sharply. Did he know what he'd done?

Therein lies the problem. Riding the jittery high following her decision to seduce Danny, Mindy had rushed over to the coat room, bouncing slightly as she waited for the attendant to their coats. The woman had taken forever, leaving Mindy alone with her thoughts.

Standing, waiting for their coats, she'd had time to think about the ramifications of her actions. Most people didn't understand Mindy. She was a being driven by impulse, but she had reasons for her rash behavior. If left alone to think about what to do, she often overthought it and became mired in worst-case-scenario type thinking.

Her ridiculous thoughts. The feel of Danny's lips against hers, the most predominant thing in her mind only moments before, was now replaced by wondering what it would be like to see him at the office afterward. Would he be awkward, or even ignore her? Would he stop taking her calls like he'd done to Amy? As usual her worrisome thoughts escalated with each passing one. What if, when it came down to it, he found her unattractive? He'd never seen her nude.

The grin she'd been sporting slowly faded away, and again her worries intensified. What if, by some random chance, tonight actually did result in an adorably chubby Indian-Italian child? It was a possibility, wasn't it? One that she'd casually, ok not so casually, thought about. What terrified her most was that the idea of having a child with him didn't scare her at all.

Her heart was beating fast as she continued to stare at herself.

He was a good person, even with all of his faults. At his core he was really a good person, and she sometimes forgot about it when he was talking trash about her favorite TV or questioning her sanity. He was loyal, and his love for his family outweighed anything else. And he would be a great father. She'd seen him with his brother, seen the love in his eyes.

The love in his eyes. Sometimes she thought she saw that when he was looking at her. Only briefly, and at the oddest of times, but she was always unsure of what she saw. It always left her stripped of confidence, humbled by the very thought. That's what it really was. What if he already loved her? Could she handle that? She didn't know what she felt for him, and he might love her already.

Her head was spinning. This was ridiculous. This is what happened when she was left alone to overthink things. Danny in love with her? It wasn't possible. She shook her head and turned on the faucet, running water into her cupped hand before she brought it to her mouth, swishing around and spitting it out. Get your head in the game, Lahiri. This is why you need to just do it. Then you can stop having all of these thoughts. Once you realize it's just some fleeting physical thing, you'll be ok. It doesn't have to be awkward at the office. It isn't awkward with Jeremy, well not now anyway.

She needed to figure out how to approach this though. She looked over her shoulder at the robe hanging on the back of the door, a devious grin began to form. She quickly stripped off her neon dress, leaving on her carefully selected lingerie, thank god she hadn't just worn spanx.

The fluffy material of the robe brushed across her skin, raising goose bumps. It wasn't cold in the bathroom, but her body was primed for physical response in anticipation of what she was about to do. She placed her palm on the door, hesitating one last time before taking a final deep breath and pressing on.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'll warn everyone now, this is an M chapter, for sure. Some might even call it smut. I know there are some that aren't into that kind of thing, so fair warning. I'll be changing the status of this fic. I liked writing it though. I've realized I don't write much M stuff really. I think that needs to be remedied. As always please feel free to leave any comments or reviews that you feel like leaving. I greatly appreciate it when someone stops and takes the time to tell me what they think (really though, i do).**

Danny stood by the window, looking out across the sparkling lights of downtown Boston. There was a part of him that couldn't comprehend how he came to be here, sharing a fancy hotel room with his not so platonic friend. He couldn't figure out her angle.

She'd been like a giddy teenager, running off to get their coats, but when she'd come back they'd ridden the elevator in silence. It wasn't a comfortable silence either. It was the kind you could feel. A palpable tension that was just begging to be shattered. Sexual tension?

He reached up and unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt. He felt warm, stuffy even. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, unlatching the casement windows and swinging them outward. The cool night air blew in, relieving his discomfort somewhat. The air was jarringly brisk, a late fall Massachusetts breeze carrying the faintest hint of wood smoke. He stood there with his eyes closed, inhaling deeply.

Just as he was beginning to feel somewhat normal again, there was a light touch on his shoulder. Mindy was standing at his side, poking her head curiously out of the casement. "Oh, wow. This is really beautiful, Danny."

He looked down at her. She was wearing a bathrobe, carelessly tucked around her body, slightly falling open at the front. "Yeah, it is." He swallowed hard. What the hell was she doing? The charade was over. He didn't know how she wanted him to respond.

He stepped back from the window, back from Mindy, and sent a cursory glance over their quarters. The hotel was very nice, and Ama had been extremely generous with their room. It was almost a suite really. There was elegant furniture grouped in an alcove adjacent to the sleeping area. "So, I guess I'll sleep over there, and you can have the bed."

He looked back at her, searching her face for a reaction to his words. She frowned and glided over to the giant bed, sitting on the edge of it, turning back the duvet. "This is a California King. I can't sleep on this while you're curled up on that sofa." She gestured toward the furniture. "It's smaller than a love seat, Danny. Be practical." She patted the bed in a motion of invitation.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, settling on the back of his neck. Hearing her last words, he paused. There was something odd in the tone of her voice. Something contrived? He peered at her. She had a scheming expression on her face. If there was any doubt about her intentions left in Danny's mind, it was quickly eradicated.

He made his way over to the bed, stopping briefly to kick off his shoes before sitting down on the edge beside her. "Practical?" He leaned close to her, invading her space completely. "So it's practical to share a bed with a colleague, in a state of… undress?" He reached forward and slipped his hand between the folds of the robe at her neck, once again resting his thumb on her pulse.

She closed her eyes involuntarily. This wasn't what she expected. She'd anticipated having to coax him over to her way of thinking. She hadn't been entirely sure he would continue to play along. Perhaps she'd underestimated how their kisses might have affected him as well.

His touch on her skin was warm, and he moved closer. She parted her lips in expectation, but was left waiting. Danny had leaned forward but paused. "Mindy… what are we doing?"

Her eyes flew open. She was tired of this game. With every touch, every glance, her desire had been building from the outset, and now it was becoming something in and of itself. She couldn't wait any longer. She reached up and slipped one hand behind his head, fingers threading their way through his hair as she pulled him forward. The other hand anchored at the collar of his shirt. She dragged him to her, angrily kissing him. This is how she'd wanted that first kiss to go, hot and messy.

She pulled back for a second, gasping for breath. "This. This is what we're doing. Got it?" She began unbuttoning his shirt, pausing after every other button to return hungrily to his mouth.

Danny sat motionless for a millisecond, a ghost of disappointment briefly passing through him. He shrugged it off. This is what she wanted? Fine. It's what he wanted too. He'd give it to her. He responded the way she wanted him to, greedily devouring her, before swatting her hands away from the buttons in impatience and making quick work of the shirt.

He stood up, dragging her with him, yanking off the robe and tossing it to the floor. For a second he stood motionless, his momentum briefly interrupted by the sight before him. He'd imagined it before, an embarrassing number of times, but he still felt a surprising catch in his breathing. She was wearing delicate white laser cut lace lingerie. The contrast between her skin tone and the material was beautiful in a way entirely new to him.

She reached up to unhook the bra, but he reached forward and stayed her hand. "Leave it." The two words came hoarsely. Danny was never a man of many words, but right now he couldn't even form full sentences.

He reached for her, yanking her none too gently into his embrace. She reached down and tugged at his belt. Before she could even begin to unthread it from its loops, he had removed it completely, divesting himself of all other garments in a matter of seconds. His slacks and boxers joining the shirt on the floor.

Mindy was slightly taken aback. Ok, so Danny wanted to be in charge. That was fine, actually it thrilled her, sending a shiver of up her spine. She hadn't expected this, but she wasn't going to question it, not when she was just beginning to realize it was exactly what she wanted.

He pulled her onto the bed, pressing her down on the mattress, nudging her legs apart with his knees. She dug her fingers into his arms, relishing the feel of his biceps under her fingertips. It was something she'd thought about doing dozens of times. She let out a sigh of satisfaction.

He bent down to her, kissing her as his hands traversed her body, settling in those currently pulsating erogenous zones. He slipped his fingers dexterously under the lace of her panties, cupping her gently, delaying the gratification of a full invasion. She whimpered and arched her hips forward in a silent plea for more. He gave her what she wanted, delving into the wet warmth, brushing against her most sensitive spot before slipping further in.

He released her lips and pulled back to gaze down on her face. Her eyes were closed, brow furrowed in concentration. Her lips parted ever so slightly, the inarticulate sounds of half formed words coming out in panting breaths. He continued his persistent ministrations, noting each time her face contorted with pleasure, and returning to the thing that had elicited it.

She was about to shatter into a million pieces. That was the only coherent thought in Mindy's mind. She knew she wanted something, but waves of pleasure cascading across her body every few minutes prevented her from catching the elusive thought.

Danny dipped down and started trailing kissing down her neck, across her collar bone, on down to her breasts. Catching the lace of her bra in his teeth, dragging it down enough to expose the soft flesh beneath, laving at her while his free hand cupped her other side. The fingers of both of her hand were threaded through Danny's hair, holding him tightly to her.

Danny could feel the rhythm inside her building to its inevitable crescendo. Her panting evolved into incoherent words moaned at odd intervals. "Danny… wait, I… I want… just…" She couldn't get out what she needed to say. "Wait. I…. I want you."

She didn't need to say anything else. He raised his head from her breast and caught her in a kiss as she moaned into him. Needing no other encouragement he positioned himself between her thighs. Not bothering to slip of her panties, he moved the scrap of lace aside and pushed into her, clutching desperately at her hips as he tried to reign in the ferocity with which he slammed into her.

She wrapped her legs around him and wound her arms around his neck, encouraging him with every rocking motion. He felt himself climbing to the pinnacle of no return and hoped she was with him. Just as he was riding the final crest of passion he heard hear cry out then clench around him. It seemed like all the muscles in her body were contracting. She arched her back and clung desperately to him, her fingers digging mercilessly into his shoulders.

Suddenly it seemed very quiet, their hard breaths echoing across the room. Mindy still reeling from the residual aftershocks of her climax unwound her arms from his neck and flopped back onto the pillow, a fine sheen of perspiration glistening on her skin.

Danny followed her motion, coming to rest lightly atop her, their breathing syncing as they touched. He bracketed her face with his hands. Looking at her closely. She had the lazy and sated expression of a well-loved woman, eyes glazed over in the aftermath of her endorphin rush.

He gently kissed her, brushing his thumb along the side of her face. She looked back up at him in wonder. "Oh, God, Danny. You really should have said something earlier." Her eyes were sparkling.

He frowned slightly. "What are you talking about?" Suddenly he was unsure of himself. Had he confessed something in the throes of passion? He didn't recall uttering anything, but he couldn't be sure. Words had chased in and out of his mind.

She smiled up at him. "All these years, and we could have been doing that instead of arguing." She sighed. "I intend to make up for lost time, just so you know."

Danny rolled off of her, a little stunned. His heart was in his throat. His world had been turned upside down, and he still had no idea where they stood. She slipped off her bra and panties, tossing them to the floor as she pulled the blankets up over them. He pulled her to his side, cradling her to him as she drifted off to sleep, her head tucked perfectly under his chin.

Danny felt strange. There was a sense of contentment hovering close to him, but a niggling apprehension at the back of his mind held it at bay. He shrugged it off, wanting to at least enjoy this moment while he had it. If this was all he got, well, he'd take it. It was better than nothing. He'd deal with possibility of her tiring of it when the time came. There was no reason to dwell on it now.

He involuntarily held her tighter, and in response she snuggled into him. Aw, hell. He was a goner.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: oh man oh man. CPST! That episode... ugh, i've died a couple times so... here's another short chapter, a little silliness maybe, but i don't know... i didn't think i should write ANOTHER smut chapter so soon... :D As always, please feel free to leave comments, of any kind. Love you all.**

It was still dark when Mindy was abruptly pulled from sleep by a strange noise. Her eyes flew open. She couldn't see much in the dimness of the room. She was still pressed up against Danny, their legs intertwined, his arms cradled her, one hand tangled in her hair.

She listened intently for the sound to repeat itself. Silence. She pushed the thought from her mind turning her attention to the man sleeping so soundly beside her. He was breathing evenly, the warmth radiating from body creating a cozy pocket inside the blankets. Briefly, she wondered how she would ever leave the space.

Being with Danny had been astonishing. Not just because he was a generous lover, which he was, but because, he'd been inside her, literally and figuratively. He was in her head. He knew every expression that passed across her face and what it meant, and he responded to it. It had never been like that before.

So yeah, the sex was amazing, but then there was this. This easy togetherness. Sleeping with men usually entailed uncomfortable shifting around in the bed, Mindy spending half the night awake because she couldn't get comfortable, possibly having an elbow digging into her side all night. But this, no this was different. They fit somehow.

She closed her eyes, ready to fall back asleep, but then she heard the noise again. A scratching sound, followed by a strange whooshing noise. She tightened her grip on Danny's arm where her hand had been resting. "Danny." She was whispering, and immediately shook her head. "Danny." This time she poked him in the side.

He grunted, seeming to wake up. "Huh, what… Min, what's going on?"

She heard the noise again. She disentangled herself from Danny's embrace and sat up. "Do you hear that?" She strained trying to listen for the sound again. "I think this room is haunted."

Danny sat up with her, reaching over to flick on the bedside lamp. "What are you talking about? This is a fancy hotel. It's not haunted."

She clutched the sheet to her breast, in a strange display of modesty. "Danny, you said this used to be a jail, like, ages ago. What if there's a ghost of some xenophobic murderer who used to live in this room, and we've totally pissed him off because we're this really cute interracial couple?"

Danny bit his bottom lip, trying not to laugh at the serious expression on her face, also trying to breeze over the fact that she'd referred to them as a couple. "I don't think people were, um, you know, put to death here."

Her eyes were wide. "He could have been some old dude who died of natural causes." She looked alarmed. "Danny what if he died from like, pneumonia or something, and he hates doctors too, because they couldn't save him?"

It was becoming impossible for Danny to hide his amusement. He couldn't contain it anymore. He busted out laughing. "I told you not to marathon _Ghost Hunters _last week, you're totally freaking yourself out." He squeezed her arm. "You want me to, uh, check out the place for… ghosts?" He was still smiling, but he wanted to reassure her anyway.

She nodded emphatically. He leaned forward and dropped a quick kiss on her mouth before slipping out from under the covers and doing a quick walk through of the suite, even going in the bathroom.

Watching him doggedly pad around the room, checking various places, Mindy felt a little skip in her pulse. Danny was someone who did things like this. She'd only recently realized it. He grumbled sometimes, but he was always there, participating in the silly things that made her feel better. Sleeping with him had done nothing to clarify her feelings, except now she was probably more confused. As he was coming back out into the sleeping area, Mindy heard the sound again. "There it is!"

Danny listened, his attention drawn to the window. He had left it open earlier, and the wind had blown the casement back toward the frame, but every once in a while the breeze would cause it to rattle against its latch. He padded over to it and secured it again. "I think, maybe, it was just the wind, ok?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah, uh, ok." She flipped the blanket back again and patted the mattress beside her. "But I'm not taking any chances with the doctor hating xenophobic ghost. As long as we're under the covers he can't get us." She smiled. "That's how ghosts operate. It's a fact."

She would get no argument from him. He was back in the bed beside her almost immediately. She settled into his embrace again, leaning her head against his chest. "I know I'm being crazy. Thank you."

"Yes, you're being crazy. You're welcome." He placed his hand underneath her chin, drawing her face up to his. "It was my pleasure." He kissed her gently, caressing the side of her face as he did.

She suddenly had the urge to blurt out something totally inappropriate. It was a bad habit she had when she became overwhelmed with some emotion. Usually it was embarrassment or anger, but this was something different. She tamped down the urge, and just enjoyed the kiss.

He pulled away, relaxing back into their previous embrace. He yawned. "Peril averted? Can we please go to sleep now so we don't look like the walking dead at brunch?"

She nodded against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat against her. It was steady and calm. An idea began to form at the back of her mind, but it was a little terrifying so she pushed it away.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: another day, another chapter. This one is smut again. I can't help it, after so long not writing any at all, I suddenly feel like it. It's a bit of a bigger challenge, logistically, and it takes me longer to write a 1,000 word smut chapter than a 2,000 word regular chapter... but still, I like it. (if you don't like smut, sorry, it's not always going to be this way, there are feels, I think, coming soon.) As always, I adore it when you all leave comments and reviews. They really make my day, and I find them encouraging (even if they're criticisms, because that means you're reading and you care).**

CH 12

Mindy woke feeling refreshed. She lifted her arms above and stretched luxuriously against Danny, releasing an almost feline purr, arching her back. It was still early. The faint light of early dawn streamed across the bed. She never woke this early on her own, at least not without flipping back over and sleeping for three more hours, but she felt completely alert.

Danny still snoozed contentedly beside her, letting out the quietest of intermittent snores. She traced the line of his collar bone with the tip of her finger, her gaze traveling up to his face. She sighed. Her handsome jerk wasn't really being a jerk anymore. She'd never been able to hide the fact that she found him attractive. "Weird body" comments aside, she'd always thought him appealing in an objective way.

Something had changed though, now that they'd crossed that line, that she'd been given permission to touch him, she found herself unable to break contact with him. She flattened her palm against his chest, sliding it down, relishing the tactile sensation of the smooth skin and hair under her palm. Her hand slipped down past his navel. In spite of their earlier intimacy, she felt unexpectedly shy for a moment. Biting her lip, she cast aside her bashfulness and reached further down, surprised to find that not all of him was asleep.

She smiled, an idea sparking. She wrapped her fingers around him, pressing her body back up against his, stretching upwards to trail wet kisses along the column of his throat, gently biting his earlobe before whispering in his ear.

He shifted slightly, his eyes fluttering open then dropping back shut, still heavy with sleep. He mumbled something incoherently. She caught his lips in hers, kissing him tentatively, taking the time to explore the shape of his mouth, still stroking him under the covers.

His eyes opened wide this time, and she felt his mouth curve upward underneath hers before he plunged his fingers into her hair, holding lips to his, shifting the lazy kiss into an impassioned one. She reluctantly withdrew from his aggressive kiss, pulling herself into a sitting position at his side.

Before she could lose her confidence in harsh light of morning, she climbed on top of him, straddling his thighs. For a moment, she remained still, just looking down at him. His eyes had a soft expression in them. "Min…" The diminutive only he used fell from his lips in an awed whisper, eliciting a fluttering sensation in her chest.

She placed her hands flat against his chest. Leaning forward, she dropped a sweet little kiss on the corner of his mouth, then another on his nose, and forehead, her hair swinging down and swishing against his skin. She couldn't help it. She wanted to rain kisses down on him until this unexpected flood of affection abated. He smiled up at her, and she knew it wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

She reached down and slipped her hand between them, sliding her fingers along the length of his erection. The smiled faded from his face, his eyes darkening with desire. A smug expression crept across her face in the form of a crooked smile. There was something so empowering about having this effect on a man. As much as she'd loved Danny taking control the night before, this was something she took delight in too.

She lifted herself up on her knees scooting forward slightly to position herself directly over him, feeling his taught skin brush across her thighs as she moved downward. His hands came to rest on her hips as he entered her, his own bucking up slightly to meet her movement. Her eyes drifted closed, for a moment forgetting the feeling of control, lost in the sensation before her.

They were both still for a moment, overwhelmed by what was happening. Mindy herself was afflicted by a hitch in her breathing when he was inside her, feeling a pleasant tautness. She placed her hands on top of his at her waist and began a slow rocking motion. It was different than the first time. There wasn't a frantic pace from the outset. This was slow and thorough.

She grasped his hands and dragged them up to her breasts. He needed little encouragement, immediately palming the sensitive area, brushing his thumbs across her responsive areolae. She tossed her head back in pleasant abandon, quickening her pace, moaning as she mounted each peak of pleasure.

It didn't always happen this way. This insistent building was something to strive for, and she'd only found it a couple of times. Each wave of pleasure, a mere intimation of what was coming, each one building in intensity. Again her pace quickened, and she could hear Danny breathing heavily beneath her.

Her lips parted as she let out an involuntary gasp of pleasure, her brow furrowing in concentrated agony. She was at the point of no return, she felt the inevitable explosion of sensation slam into her and she cried out his name and continued to rock against him, riding out the aftershocks.

Danny leaned forward, moving his hands from her breasts and wrapping his arms around her, he adroitly flipped her onto her back. She let out a little surprised squeak and clutched at him as he thrust into her, once, twice, finding his own climax almost immediately.

She smiled up at him. She couldn't help it, she was still flying high on euphoria. He smiled back at her, the smile she'd only seen a couple times, completely unreserved. She felt tears in her eyes, but blinked them back.

He lowered his face to hers and dropped feather light kisses on her eyelids just as she'd done earlier. She felt a pain in her chest. This was too perfect, too unreal. She kept her arms wrapped around him as he nuzzled his face into her neck, breathing in the scent of her hair.

She felt the words coming, and wanted to stop them, but they still perched on the back of her throat. "I…" She swallowed. No. It would be silly right now. She didn't even know if it was real. "I could wake up early all the time, if it were like that." There, that was ok.

He sighed into her neck, mumbling. "I could sleep in, if it were like this."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Another chapter, sort of an in between to help set up the next one (although I have to admit I don't really plan out these stores :O)... Enjoy, and please feel free to leave comments and suggestions. I appreciate them. **

CH 13

Mindy held up an aquamarine skirt next to a bright yellow blouse. "What about this?"

Danny groaned. "It's good. It's great. Can we please get a move on?"

She frowned at him. "Danny, you're not being very helpful. So far the only input you've given me is: 'Yeah, that one's fine. So's that one. That one too. '" She jutted out her jaw, doing her best Staten Island impression. "Really, if you don't start giving me something else I'm going to have to start snapping pictures of these outfits and posting them on Instagram. At least then I'll have some useful feedback."

Before he could reply she started snapping photos of the array of clothing spread out before her. Danny sighed and leaned against the clothing rack beside him, feigning interest in the rainbow assortment. The longer Mindy took to pick out an outfit, the more time he had to think about brunch with her family.

Pretending to be her boyfriend at the dinner last night was one thing. It was a charade. She was in on it with him. It wasn't hard to play a part. It was just acting. It had even been enjoyable for him. He'd thought it could be a safe way to explore his growing attraction to her, but she'd gone and flipped everything upside down, eagerly responding to all his touches, and then there was this morning.

When she rose over him, and the yellow light streaming through the window had cast a golden glow on her skin, he'd been lost, completely enveloped by an unremitting sense of joy. For a moment he'd forgotten that it was only temporary.

He glanced over at her. She was still facing away from him, rearranging the clothing in front of her and staring in contemplation. She picked up the yellow blouse again. Danny's impatience bubbled over. He strode over to her. "Ok. You want to know what I think? I think you should wear this." He grabbed the yellow blouse from her hand, picking up the skirt she'd paired with it. "Or this." He draped the clothing over his shoulder and picked up another outfit she'd been looking at. "Or this one." Tucking more clothing under his arm.

Getting carried away, he scooped up the rest of the articles on the table. Arms full, he turned to her, looking at her upturned face, a strange expression of confusion on it. "Anything at all really." He'd meant to sound irritated, but it just came out softly. "Because if you don't pick something right now, I'm going to drag you out the door, and you'll have to wear the dress from last night or go naked."

His voice cracked a little on the last word, undermining his attempt to assume the same cavalier attitude from before last night. It was only recently that he'd began to notice just how often that happened. He cleared his throat. He pushed on, thinking maybe he should just go with it. "I know which I would prefer, but it's your choice." He held up the clothing, shaking it slightly.

Her eyes narrowed. Without saying a word, she plucked the yellow blouse and skirt off his shoulder and turned toward the changing area. She glanced back at him over her shoulder before slipping through the door.

Danny didn't know what he was doing. He sighed and his shoulders drooped. He'd been lying to himself when he'd thought he could just take whatever she was willing to give, but since they'd left the hotel this morning he'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for her to elaborately explain to him that this was just a "what happens in Boston stays in Boston" kind of thing.

He'd told himself that he could take that for what it was. That if this brief interlude were the only thing to ever happen between them, he could enjoy it and move on. The truth is, maybe he could do that, just maybe, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to just continue the way they'd been before. He didn't want to continue the way_ he'd_ been before. He had been lonely. It had been an out of body experience admitting that to her, and he wasn't certain what part of his brain had deemed it wise, but there it was.

His loneliness wasn't something debilitating. It was just there, ever present, and sometimes it did get to him, filled him with regret for the decisions that had gotten him to this point, but most of the time it was just this background noise. He'd been able to disregard it for so long.

Then she'd come along and destroyed his ability to ignore the feeling. The days he spent in the warmth of her company led to nights when he couldn't escape the gnawing feeling of being alone. The situation he found himself in now would only be a million times worse.

Danny was completely lost in thought when Mindy reemerged from the changing room, wearing her new outfit. She flitted over to the sales person, chatting with her briefly and nodding in Danny's direction.

The woman purposely strode over to Danny. "Your… friend said that you would be paying for her purchases today." Her eyebrows were raised slightly as she glanced back at Mindy, who was still standing in front of a mirror studying her reflection.

Danny frowned and called out. "What? I'm paying for this just because you don't want to wear the same dress?"

She turned back to him. "Don't worry Danny, like I explained to her, it's just because I forgot my money in New York. I'll get you back." The sales person cast a somewhat dubious glance in Mindy's direction. Seeing it, Mindy put her hands on her hips and walked over to the pair. "Don't think I'm some gold digging girlfriend. I'll have you know I'm a doctor." She gestured to Danny. "And so is he. We could probably buy an island, like Oprah, if we pooled our money."

Danny hated it when people started talking about their income. "Alright, alright. That's enough." Pulling out his wallet he handed the woman a credit card. She left and came back after a couple of minutes, thanking them for their business.

They walked toward the exit and Mindy smiled. "You have a credit card? I'd always picture you as a 'convert all my money into gold' kind of guy."

Danny shrugged. "Of course I have credit cards. Maintaining a balance on a low interest credit card is a good way to build…" He trailed off. She had dramatically rolled her eyes back in her head, and stuck her tongue halfway out of her mouth. "What are you doing?"

She snapped back to her normal self. "Sorry, you were boring me to death."

Danny felt his lips twitch. He wanted to be annoyed with her, but found it impossible. He let out a short laugh, sheepishly looking at her. She stared back at him, obviously pleased by his reaction. Danny was suddenly engulfed by that same feeling from this morning.

Without stopping to analyze why he felt the compulsion, he stepped close to her planted a sound kiss on her lips. It wasn't a kiss fueled by desire or longing, but rather a short and comfortable peck, like their lips had been apart for too long and just needed to get reacquainted. "Talking about ways to build your credit as a method of murder… I'll keep that in mind the next time you steal my sandwich from the break room."

They made their way out into the street and Danny hailed a cab. "Are you ready? Time to go convince the Lahiris that you're a bonafide adult. Quite the task I'd say."

They slipped into the cab, giving directions to the restaurant. Mindy turned to him. "Bonafide? Who even says that?" The happy expression on her face belied the irritation she was trying to project. "I would tell you to cut out the old man lingo, but I suspect it's the kind of thing my parents would love. They're always setting me up with men twice my age, so have at it."

Danny reached over and took her hand in his, lacing his fingers through her the way love struck teens did. She looked down at it, then back up at him, not saying anything, but rather turning to look ahead, a slight smile forming on her lips.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: And another chapter... finally brunch.. I'm enjoying writing this story. Everyone's feedback on is amazing to me, and I truly appreciate it. As always, I encourage everyone to leave comments about the story, or suggestions. I do love it all.**

CH 14

"You invited Rishi?" Mindy couldn't wipe the irritation from her face. A look of disbelief had settled across her features as she stared at her mother.

Danny placed his hand on her elbow, leaning close to her. "Min, don't— "

She shrugged out of his grasp. "No, Danny. I'm going to. This is totally unfair. They've never invited me to brunch before, because it was for the 'adults,' and now I'm standing here staring at my _baby _brother, chatting up the partners from uncle Rajesh's law firm?"

Ama frowned at the slight increase in the volume of Mindy's voice. She ushered her daughter and Danny back toward the entryway of the restaurant, out of the other guests' earshot. "Don't take that tone with me, mishti. I have my reasons." She leaned in conspiratorially. "Vera's husband invited his sister, and she's your brother's age, so…" Ama's eyes sparkled.

Mindy's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? You're doing this to Rishi now?" She rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess as long as it isn't me, it's all good."

Her shoulders relaxed. Danny could feel the tension leave her through the hand lightly rested on the small of her back. He slid his hand up to her shoulder, giving a quick reassuring squeeze.

Mindy fought the urge to lean into him, surprised by the sudden impulse.

Ama laughed to herself. "Compose yourself, and come join us." She whirled around and strode back to the large table. Mindy just stared after her, distracted by the unexpected feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

She turned to Danny. He was smiling down at her, causing the feeling to increase tenfold. "I almost feel guilty about lying to her, but it feel so good to not be the object of her matchmaking ambitions." She grinned.

For a split second, Danny's smile faltered. He caught himself and put it back in place, but it didn't quite reach his eyes any longer. "What are you going to do when she finds out you're still single?" He willed his voice not to break, as it had on previous occasions.

Mindy frowned, suddenly deep in thought. Still single? She didn't feel single. At first she'd thought sleeping with Danny had done little to clarify her feelings about him, but now she wasn't sure. Certainly she looked at him in a different light.

He was still impatient with her occasionally, and her pop culture references still flew over his head ninety percent of the time. But he was so caring when it came to her, and kind in general. Those attributes were all she could think about when she looked at him. And now every time he looked at her she could feel her heart thumping in her chest, and a strange swirling sensation in her stomach.

But his softly spoken question stopped time for a second, quickly replacing the warmth of affectionate thoughts with a sudden coldness that ran through her. He said she was still single, so obviously he wasn't being enveloped by these overwhelming thoughts. What did he think was happening between them? A friends with benefits situation? She hated that. She hated that so much.

"I guess I hadn't thought about it." She turned away from him, trying not to be abrupt. She didn't want to telegraph her sudden realization. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."

She was surprised by how much it hurt. Three days ago she hadn't even entertained the thought of being with Danny that way, and now she was fighting nausea because she thought he didn't want her.

They got to the table, Danny reaching forward to pull out the chair for her. She took it, smiling up at him briefly before turning her attention to her father sitting next to her. "Dad, I didn't even talk to you last night. What did you think of the hotel?"

Danny took his place beside Mindy, wondering at the sudden coldness he felt emanating from her. He frowned to himself, nudging the ridiculous array of silverware laid out in front of him. He felt a little lost. For a moment, he'd believed they were on the same page, that maybe he could confess all the things he'd been thinking.

Her father was gushing about the historical significance of the building and the architecture. Danny smiled. He was only now realizing the way he had sounded to her. Sometimes he really was an old man. Maybe she was just realizing how much he reminded her of her father, and that he wasn't really an option.

He should have expected it. She'd always been extremely vocal about their incompatibility. He sighed, turning his attention to the array of breakfast pastries on the table in front of him. The food was set out family style, platters and serving bowls full of various breakfast dishes. He reached forward and picked up a scone, taking more time than necessary to butter it, and then pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Oh, Mindy, please introduce me to this handsome man you have with you. We're all _very _interested to know how you managed this." The high pitched voice, filled with phony exuberance grated on Danny's ears. He glanced up at the woman standing behind him.

Mindy had turned as well. Giving her full attention to the beautiful willowy woman standing behind them. She was something straight out of one of those Bollywood movies Mindy occasionally talked about. Very beautiful, but something harsh about the way she spoke.

Mindy did her best to affect a fake smile. "Vera, this is Danny, my boyfriend. Danny, this is Vera, my cousin." Mindy bit the inside of her cheek. "What do you mean by 'managed,' Vera, darling?"

Vera continued to smile insipidly. "Well, I mean, what sort of scheme did you pull to get your hooks into him?" She laughed, a little cruelly. "I mean, you never bring _anyone_ to family things."

Mindy's nostrils flared, and she opened her mouth to reply, but was unable to articulate anything. Her normal confidence still shaken by the previous exchange with Danny. She opened and closed it like a fish out of water.

She felt a warm touch on her hand as Danny slipped his over it, running his thumb over her knuckles as he turned to Vera. "Actually, she didn't _manage _anything. I've known Mindy for a very long time." He swallowed. "We actually hated each other in the beginning, and avoided each other at all costs."

Mindy was looking at him like he was crazy. Her eyes wide in confusion. He continued. "Then we were thrown together at the office we both work at. I couldn't avoid her loud and boisterous personality, even though I made a concerted effort to do so."

Mindy started to slip her hand out from under his, but he grasped her fingers in his. "I was a closed off person, and I didn't want to let anyone in, but she was persistent, annoyingly so, and adamant that we become friends." He took a deep breath. "And we did."

Mindy's lips were pursed, and she was staring at Danny intensely, waiting from him to finish. "But our friendship never sat well with me. I had thoughts about her that I'd never had about any friend, and when the men she dated hurt her, it killed me." He squeezed her hand. "I had fallen in love with her, and she didn't even know it."

Mindy continued to look at him in stunned silence, tears pooling in her eyes. She didn't know what to think. The sincerity in his words made it hard to breathe. She found it impossible to know what was real. Danny couldn't take his eyes off of her, completely forgetting about Vera. "And when I told her, she just looked at me like I was crazy, but I knew I had to say something. I couldn't take just being her friend anymore."

Vera stood awkwardly behind them, suddenly aware that she wasn't even in the sphere of either person's attention. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, isn't that nice," in a somewhat deflated manner before she wandered off.

At some point, Mindy began breathing again, working diligently to blink back the tears that had pooled in her eyes. "Danny… we have to talk… or something. What is going on?"

He clenched his jaw and stared down at the scone on his plate. "I know… I don't know. Can we just, um, wait until the ride back to New York. I don't want to, uh, do this here." He glanced around the table at her family, all of them absorbed in conversations with each other. He had a strange feeling of being all alone with her, even though they were surrounded by people.

She picked at the food on her plate. "Yeah, sure, that sounds… ok." Her heart was still beating in her chest, and her head was still fuzzy. Did he mean those things he said? If he did… She couldn't comprehend it. Had he felt this way for a long time? How could he have kept it to himself, and why? The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

As much as she'd looked forward to brunch, now she couldn't wait for it to just be over.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Have faith. That's all i have to say about this chapter. I spent several days not knowing where to go with this story. I think I've found a path though. As always, please feel free to leave comments and suggestions. i really do appreciate anyone taking the time to say something.**

CH 15

It was the longest hour of Mindy's life, sitting at the long table, nodding occasionally and smiling at the things her family said. She had to ask people to repeat themselves dozens of times because she just wasn't paying attention.

She was completely caught up in her own thoughts, finding it impossible to look at the man sitting next to her. The one who didn't seem to be experiencing the same distraction as herself.

She tried to focus on the food in front of her. Ama had arranged quite the spread. A variety of breakfast foods and cute little finger foods covered the expanse in front of her, and yet as hungry as she'd been before, none of it seemed appetizing.

Every time Danny's knee would accidentally brush up against her, she jumped a little, and soon began to feel her palms getting all sweaty. She wiped them on her skirt. God, is this how Danny felt all the time? Gross.

It was happening again. She had far too much time to think about the situation laid out before her. Danny might love her. He'd made some sort of half-declaration in true rom/com style, and she didn't know what to think.

Her stomach flipped for the tenth time. Ok, so he probably loved her, what now? Did she love him back? She honestly didn't know. In the space of three days she'd gone from thinking he could barely tolerate her, to being confronted with the possibility that he loved her. It was a lot to take in. She couldn't say she didn't love Danny. She had loved him for a long time, in the way she loved so many people in her life, but that other way?

Without realizing it, Mindy had come to let her fork hover in the air in front of her face, a look of odd concentration spreading across her features. Danny glanced over her curiously, nudging her when she still didn't move. "Hey, you ok?"

She snapped out of it, flushing slightly in embarrassment. Oh god, her hands were sweaty again. She pushed away from the table and rose. "I'm fine. I just need to, uh, go to the restroom, and um, freshen up?" She heard her voice pitch upwards on the last word, and it came out like a question. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Yeah, I need to freshen up. I'll be right back."

Before Danny could reply, she was halfway across the restaurant, leaving him to stare after her, wondering what she was thinking.

Mindy found herself, for the second time in less than twenty four hours, giving herself a pep talk in a bathroom mirror. This is exactly what she had been afraid of. Danny having some kind of feelings for her. It was too much. She knew he didn't take these things lightly, that if he said it today he must have felt it for a long time. A very long time, and she had been clueless.

How was that even possible? She felt like an idiot. There had been signs. Of course there had been signs, but she'd totally ignored them, because they scared her. The way he had looked at her before she announced her trip to Haiti. The disappointment she had seen completely envelop him when Casey had announced their engagement. She'd ignored it and the guilty feeling it had inspired in her.

And yet, she'd been able to convince herself that she was being delusional. Danny hadn't withdrawn from her. That's what he would have done, right? If he had feelings for someone he couldn't have? He would have turned into a grump and gotten all quiet. He would have been mean, but none of that had happened. He'd been a better friend lately than anyone in her life. He'd been supportive, still grumpy, but that was just his personality, and to be honest, she liked it. She liked it because it made her feel special when he cracked a smile in her direction, or when he spoke to her softly in a voice she never heard him use with anyone else.

Sometimes she felt like she was the only person who really knew him. She knew he had his flaws. He was overly competitive and insanely opinionated about a variety of things, but so was she. His egotism was one of the things that had most bothered her in the beginning, but she knew where it came from now. He used it to blanket his insecurities. She knew that because she did the same exact thing. Now, when he would break out the machismo she would just give him a pointed look, and he would grin sheepishly and break out of it. She loved that. She loved that she saw a part of him no one else did.

Unbidden images flashed in her mind. It was something she always did when approaching the possibility of a new relationship. She pictured herself walking down the aisle toward him. She could see it so clearly. She thought about standing with him, his hand on the distended abdomen of her very pregnant self. It was insane. She knew that, but she couldn't stop herself. She felt her knees go weak and clutched at the sink in front of her.

A declaration of love had never produced this reaction in her before. Although, in the past she had always been the first one to say it. She'd always hated that moment of pregnant anticipation, waiting for the other person to say it back. There had even been a few times when they'd paused too long before saying it, and she knew, no matter what they said, that they didn't feel the same way.

Was she doing that to Danny? She frowned at her reflection. "No. It's not the same." The words echoed in the empty bathroom. She thought saying it out loud would make it true. She refused to believe that she could make him feel so vulnerable. He hadn't said it outright. He had couched it in the game they were playing. He had left himself a way out. Why had he done that? What reservations did he have?

Her heart dropped to her stomach, the urge to gag washing over her. It was because she always ruined everything. They always left. They never stayed. Danny would leave too. He'd try, valiantly, but he'd end up leaving anyway. That realization had never stopped her from pursuing someone before, but he was different. If this turned into a giant mess, he wouldn't just give up on being with her, he would leave for real. She wouldn't see him again. She would lose him completely.

She was breathing in short pants, staring wide-eyed in the mirror. Hyperventaliting? Really? She forced herself to calm down and breathe normally. She just needed a plan to make things go back the way they were before. She couldn't risk pursuing this. She leaned back, doing the few yoga breaths she remembered from the one class she'd taken. She searched her mind.

She began to relax a little, channeling her inner warrior for strength. She would just take the same tack as before. Obliviousness. She'd pretend she thought they were still playing the game, and when they got back to the city, she would act exactly as she had before their charade. The only problem with her plan was the three hour car ride looming before her. There was no possible way she'd be able to remain unmoved stuck in such small quarters with him. Especially since he was dead set on talking about it all.

She racked her brain, her eyes settling on her clutch sitting on the edge of the sink. She'd snatched it off the table and taken it with her out of habit. Her keys and phone were in it, but not much else aside from makeup essentials. She picked it up and held it to her tightly. What she was about to do might actually make things worse, but she hoped it would only be temporary.

She poked her head out of the bathroom door, peeking across the restaurant. Seeing that the coast was clear she ran on her tiptoes to the entrance, slipping through the doors out into the street.

The cold air hit her like a wall, sending a shiver up her spine. Steeling herself against the cold she raised her hand to hail a cab. She didn't have any money, but she'd just have them wait outside her building while she ran up to fetch it.

Safely tucked inside the cab on her way back to New York, she pulled her phone from her clutch. _Danny, I got a call from the hospital. I have to head back. Tell my parents I had to leave. _She stared at the message on her phone, hesitating before she sent it. _Thanks for being such an awesome fake date, we totally fooled them :) …._

She felt sick as the message sent. It was for the best. She turned off her phone, not prepared to see his reply. She felt like she was doing the only thing she could do to safeguard their friendship, but it was all she could do not to crumple up in the corner and sob.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Yay! another update (my life has sucked this past week, and perhaps Mindy's neuroses is a little bit indicative of my own... totally going to go drown in a bottle of wine after this) Hope you like it and I hope to update it again in a couple days. :D**

CH 16

Mindy arrived back in New York late Saturday afternoon, anxiety about her decision plaguing her the entire way home. She listened to the entire _Les Miserables _soundtrack twice on her iPod in an effort to take her mind off of it. But the plight of Anne Hathaway's character only served to remind her of her own dire straits.

She flopped down on her bed, not bothering to kick off her shoes. Her phone was still clutched in her hand. She still hadn't powered it back up, too worried that she'd find a dozen messages from Danny, all enumerating her faults, the worst of which being exemplified by abandoning him with her parents.

She stared up at the ceiling fan over her bed, counting the revolutions to pass the time, the phone still burning her palm. It was like a hand grenade, one that she'd pulled the pin from, but hadn't released yet. She clutched it like her life depended on it.

There were two possibilities. The first had been running on repeat in her mind. There could be a succession of messages, each angrier than the next, and honestly, she could deal with that. An angry Danny was something she had a lot of experience with. The second possibility was an idea she almost refused to entertain. What if he hadn't texted at all? She wasn't prepared for Danny to completely freeze her out.

She'd been lying on her bed for half an hour by the time she screwed up her courage enough to turn her phone back on. She started to press the button, but decided she needed to fortify herself a little before facing reality. She jumped up and ran to the kitchen, uncorking a bottle of wine and filling up her largest glass.

Glass and phone in hand she sat down on her couch, taking a couple gulping drinks of her wine. She polished off the glass before she allowed her index finger to press all the way down. The phone took longer than she expected to come back on. She hated the anticipation. Finally she heard the tell-tale little chime and the screen lit up.

Taking a deep breath she switched over to her messages. There were several, from various members of her family, saying inane things like: _It was nice seeing you. _There was one fairly odd one from her brother: _Mindy, what are you playing at?_ She didn't really care to examine the significance of that one. She scrolled through them until she saw the one she was looking for.

_Yeah, we sure did. See you Monday._

That was it. No subsequent messages berating her for leaving him in the awkward situation of explaining her whereabouts to her family. He didn't call her out on her obvious cowardice. No assertions that they needed to talk about what had happened between them. Nothing.

It looked as though it would be exactly as she had wanted. They could just go back to the way things were before. He wasn't going to let the one night they'd had together get in the way of their friendship. He wasn't going to bring those raw emotions back up. She'd seen it in his eyes. She hadn't imagined the love she'd seen there, but he was willing to just let things be the way she wanted.

That was great. Just great. Perfect, in fact. The world was all sunshine and rainbows. So she had no idea why there were tears rolling down her face, dripping all over new blouse. She didn't know why she was gasping between sobs to the point where she'd began hiccupping.

She looked down at the message one last time before tossing her phone to the end of her couch and stomping back into the kitchen. She didn't bother with the glass again, this time just grabbing the bottle and a box of tissues and heading back to her room.

How many times had she found herself in this position? Crying over some guy, nursing a bottle of wine? It was Danny though, and this wasn't a breakup. If anything this was an assurance that they would be friends for a long time to come. She heard a keening noise coming from somewhere. God, it was annoying. The noise grated on her ears. She took a large gulp of wine and the noise stopped for a minute, just to restart seconds later.

It took her longer than she'd care to admit to realize that the sound was issuing from her own vocal chords. When she finally did realize it, she tossed aside her empty wine bottle and stomped back to the kitchen to collect another one.

This is what she'd wanted, but she'd never thought he would simply acquiesce. He never did that. He always argued with her, and tried to drag her over to his way of seeing things. She'd sort of expected this to be the same.

She was halfway back across her apartment, wine in hand, when she stopped dead in her tracks, a realization smacking her in the face. She'd not only expected him to fight her on this, she'd hoped for it. He always badgered her when he thought she was wrong. This bottomless chasm opening up in her chest was that hope disappearing.

Danny was her friend, and he was letting her know he'd always be there, in whatever capacity she saw fit. She was only now realizing she was the one who couldn't handle going back to the way things were. She sank down to the floor in the middle of her apartment.

Why couldn't he have just given her more time? She would have figured it out eventually. But no, he just had to go and lay it all out in front of her, and cause her to behave stupidly. Now she didn't know how to fix this, because there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she wanted to fix it.

The tears were still running in rivulets down the side of her face into her hair. She sprawled across the rug in her living room, the wine bottle making its way to her lips every couple minutes. Danny was going to be all stoic about this. She just knew it, and it was going to make it all that more difficult. It wouldn't be easy to get him to say it again.

She finally finished the second bottle of wine, and mustered enough energy to pull herself back up to her feet. Her head spun and she had to steady herself against the couch before shuffling back into her room.

She felt too muddled to think of a course of action. The ache in her chest was too much to deal with right now, and the only reason she hadn't started on a third bottle of wine was because she didn't have one. She flopped back down on her bed, turning her face into the pillow, quickly dampening it.

She was completely wrecked by the idea that she might love Danny back. Theirs was already a volatile relationship. The damage they could do to one another was infinite. Their lives were already completely interwoven. They knew all the same people, they liked all the same places. If this all went downhill one of them would have to leave.

She shook herself. No, stop it. It was this type of circular thinking that had caused her to run away in the first place. She had to just take a chance, that is, if Danny still wanted to take a chance with her. Sometimes she became so self-involved she forgot how fragile other people could be. She'd rejected his declaration of love, and she only hoped that it hadn't closed him up completely.

The tears finally began to abate. She inelegantly blew her nose into a tissue and tossed it aside. Ugh, she was a disgusting mess when she cried. It didn't help that she was basically three sheets to the wind already. Softly hiccupping, she pulled herself upright in her bed. So she loved Daniel Castellano. What now? She had to think of some scheme to let him know he could tell her again.

She hated that she was so cowardly, but she needed to know he still felt that way. She needed him to say it to her, without reservations this time. She still felt heartsick, but her resolve to fix things was beginning to ease that pain a little. She looked at herself across the room in the mirror. "You're Dr. Mindy Lahiri, damn it! A doctor at the top of your field! You're smart and beautiful! You can get your boneheaded colleague to admit he loves you one more time!"

She let out a long breath, her pep talk having calmed her considerably. She was going to get exactly what she wanted, and so was Danny, even if he didn't know that's what he wanted.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: This one is winding down. I'm thinking one or two more chapters will find it at a satisfactory conclusion, hopefully just in time for the next episode. Yay. I'm hoping it'll be full of lovely one-shot inspirations. I can dream. Please feel free to leave any comments or reviews on here that you want. I love hearing what everyone has to say, and everyone in this fandom is so nice. Also, anyone who wants to can drop an ask in my box on tumbler. I have two urls: Bethofbells, and Mindyanddannyfineanddandy. I love you all. :D**

CH 17

It was awkward, so awkward, and there was no way around it. Mindy's inner warrior had completely abandoned her. She had strode confidently into the office Monday morning, ready to put things right, but the wind was completely taken out of her sails when she saw Danny standing in the doorway to his office.

He looked no different than any other day. He was just standing there, leaning on the door frame reading a file. He was wearing those stupid, alright maybe adorable, old lady glasses. The only pop of color in his typically monochromatic wardrobe. She stood there, frozen in place, staring at him overwhelmed by the affection she felt for the person standing in front of her.

He shut the file and snapped the glasses apart where they connected magnetically, dropping them to hang around his neck. She was standing directly in his line of vision and it caught him by surprise. For a moment he was unable to hide the look of hurt that flashed across his features, but it was quickly replaced by that old familiar shuttered expression.

Mindy's stomach dropped to her toes, her heart constricted in her chest. All of the silly schemes she'd been tossing around seemed so trivial. He wasn't one of those guys. She couldn't fix things that way. She nervously toyed with the ends of her hair, unsure of what to do.

He looked away from her and walked over to the secretary's desk to hand Betsy the file. "You're here early. Do you have some sort of behavior altering brain tumor I should know about?"

He was attempting to recapture whatever weird relationship they'd had before, but his words fell flat, and Mindy herself had no flippant reply. "I just, um…" She trailed off, her throat constricting a little. She cleared it. "I have work to do." She turned on her heel and escaped into her office, shutting the door behind her.

That was it. That was the extent of their interactions for the next three weeks. Mindy was paralyzed with the fear that anything she could say would make the situation worse. She came into work each morning, making a beeline for her office and not leaving it much for the rest of the day. She spent as little time as possible in the doctor's lounge, afraid she would run into him there.

She felt like she was living in limbo. There was a part of her that just wanted to push the issue, and come to some sort of resolution, but she was also afraid of what that resolution would be. She was waffling again, some mornings she would start off thinking, "Today is the day, Lahiri, you're going to tell him how you feel and hope he still feels the same," but she would totally lose her resolve halfway to work.

But one day she was shocked into action. She was hiding in her office, as she'd been doing for the past three weeks, eating lunch at her desk and catching up on her paperwork when the phone at her desk rang. She ignored it as usual. Betsy knew when she was doing paperwork to transfer the calls to one of the other partners, but this time the phone just rang and rang.

Betsy popped her head into Mindy's office. "Sorry, Dr. L, the guys all went to lunch together for some "bonding" thing, and you're the only one still here."

Mindy sighed and shooed Betsy away, picking up the phone. "_Shulman and Associates_, Dr. Mindy Lahiri speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hi. This is Dr. Andrew of Downtown Newark Obstetrics. I'm not entirely sure if you can help me. I was expecting to speak with Dr. Reed or Dr. Prentice. At least those are the references I have listed."

Mindy was awash in confusion. "I'm sure I can help you. I'm a very competent and successful gynecologist."

"Well, I'm calling in regards to Dr. Daniel Castellano. We're thinking of taking him on as a partner here at _First Street Newark Obstetrics_, but I always like to get a read on the personality of a possible colleague, and I find the best way to do that is to speak with the doctors he currently works with, although Dr. Castellano didn't mention you."

Mindy sat in stunned silence. Danny was thinking of leaving the practice? What the hell. She felt panicky all the sudden, the receiver slipped through her suddenly sweaty hands and bounced on the desk.

She took a deep breath and picked it back up. "Um, Danny, well he probably didn't mention me because we don't exactly get along. As a matter of fact, we pretty much butt heads at every turn…" She trailed off. Was she trying to sabotage this? Yes, yes she was. "And I think he might be stealing from the practice, but you know, that's just speculation. Actually, I'm getting a page right now, one of my patients is going into labor, so sorry I couldn't talk with you more." The words came out in a chattery rush. She hung up the phone without waiting to hear Dr. Andrew's reply.

Damn Danny. Mindy was so angry she was shaking. What the hell did he think he was doing? She couldn't believe he was taking such a cowardly way out. She sat at her desk unable to move. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes, slipping down her cheeks and falling on the desk.

This is what she'd been afraid of. This is the exact situation she'd been trying to avoid. She pulled a box of tissues out of the bottom drawer of her desk, sopping up the tears flowing freely. After a few minutes, and a handful of shredded tissues, she shook herself out of it. So, he was leaving. Now nothing she did mattered. There was nothing she could do to make the situation worse.

She dried up her tears, and straightened in her chair. As soon as Danny got back from his stupid male bonding luncheon she was going to tell him everything. She was really going to let him have it. Let the chips fall where they may. Carpe diem. Whatever the hell any of that meant.

As if on cue, Mindy heard the ribald and annoying laughter of Peter echo through the office, shortly followed by a halfhearted chuckle from Danny. She composed herself and strode out into the office, heading straight toward him. "Daniel," her voice came out a little bit severe. "Whose bright idea was it to put all of our office supplies down in that disgusting little storage room with the hot pipe?"

He was momentarily taken aback by her tone of voice, and the fact that she was actually talking to him. Shaking off his surprise he replied in the same manner. "It was my bright idea. What's with the attitude, Lahiri?"

She plastered an annoyed expression on her face. "Well, Mr. Bright Idea, since you put everything down there, you're going to be the one to help me find the right ink cartridge for my printer. I spent an hour down their looking yesterday."

"Mindy, I don't have time for thi -"

She cut him off. "Danny, seriously? You put it down there, and now I can't find it. The least you can do is help me look for it."

He sighed, walking over to his office, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it behind the door. "Fine, give me a second, I'll meet you down there."

Mindy spun on her heel. So much for not using a ridiculous scheme to fix things with Danny. Luring him down to the hot pipe room had been way too easy. She smiled as she strode out of the office.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Woo hoo, another chapter. This one is sort of a really minor back track. It's the lunch the boys had. Peter and Jeremy had ulterior motives, to say the least ;). I can actually see the finish line with this one. I hope to complete it in the next two days, since I don't have to work. Woo hoo!. I hate begging for comment/reviews, but i really do find them encouraging, so if you feel the urge, please just give in to it :D.**

CH 18

Danny hunched over his plate, taking large bites of his sandwich while Peter and Jeremey stared at him in mild disgust. He looked up at them, mouth still partially full, "What? It's lunch time, you're supposed to eat, not chat."

Peter sent Jeremy a sidelong glance and then turned his attention back to Danny. "Yeah, well, we didn't come out here to watch you masticate your food. Good lord man, slow down."

Danny looked across the table at them. They were sitting together on one side facing him. He was reminded of the few times he'd been sent to the principal's office in middle school. They both had food on the table, but rather than eating it they were staring at him, arms crossed. "What the hell are we here for then?"

Peter opened his mouth, but hesitated to say anything, so Jeremy heaved out a long suffering sigh and saved him the trouble. "It's an intervention…. of sorts."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me." He knew it had been a little odd for Peter and Jeremy to be so eager to come to Danny's favorite Deli. As a matter of fact, it was so transparent it was almost farcical. They'd really laid it on pretty thick with their "oh, Danny, I bet you know all the best places to eat. Oh, Danny, where can a man get a good sandwich? Oh, Danny, and at a reasonable price." Jesus.

He reluctantly sat his food down in front of him, ready to hash out whatever the hell they were talking about. The only reason he didn't just get up and leave without preamble was because he kind of felt he owed them something. He was leaving after all, and they'd both agreed to give him personal references, and it wasn't like he had loads of friends in the profession. "What is this about?"

The pair in front of him let out simultaneous sighs of relief, as if they'd expected a fight. Peter piped up. "Well, we just want to know what the hell you did to Mindy. Because her mopey attitude lately is really starting to bring me down. I mean, you have to have done something to her, unless she's going through menopause or something. She's a real Debbie downer and it's starting to affect my game. A playa can hit the club with an aura of sadness engulfing him."

Jeremy, trying to project an impression of sanity waved a hand at Peter, trying to get him to shut up. "Alright, alright, that's enough." He turned back to Danny. "But, really, we are concerned. Not just about Mindy, I mean obviously she's not being herself lately, but neither are you. You really want to leave and join a practice in New Jersey? New Jersey? Have you even seen that documentary on MTV?"

Danny heaved a frustrated sigh, running his hands down his face. He gesture toward Jeremy. "Look, Newark is less than half an hour away, I don't even have to move. So that's no big deal. Jersey's not bad, ok, stop listening to Mindy's rants about any place that isn't New York."

He turned to face Peter. "And you, you're just being a dick, you don't even really care about any of this. As a matter of fact I heard you say that you love the 'New Mindy' because you don't have to tune out her 'high pitched harpy caterwauling,' ok. So what is this really about?"

Jeremy slumped in his chair while Peter became suddenly very interested in the napkin in front of him. After a few minutes they both started talking at the same time.

"Don't leave us alone with Mindy, she steamrolls all of my managing-partner decisions."

"You're the only one that can reign her in."

"She's so difficult when you're not around."

"I think she wants me to father her children. What? She does."

Danny waved his hands in front of him in an effort to stop the deluge of hastily spoken words. "Enough!" He looked at the two men in front of him with a bit of disgust on his face, but it didn't faze them.

Jeremy leaned forward. "And she's worse than ever lately. We really did assume you had said or done something. You're the only one she pays any attention to anyway."

Danny swallowed nervously. As idiotic as the pair was, they were on to more than they realized. Things between him and Mindy were more awkward and strained than they'd ever been before. And damn it, it pissed him off, because he was the one that was trying here.

After she abandoned him in Boston, he'd been destroyed, but had to quickly hide it because of where he was. Pushing it deep down helped him to think about it logically. He had always told himself that, with Mindy, he would just take whatever he could get. So, when she clearly let him know that the night in the hotel had been a one-time event, he'd pushed the hurt down even further and attempted to regain some normalcy between them.

But she hadn't let him. She hadn't laughed at his lame joke, or even called him a loser when he'd been wearing the glasses he knew she hated. She just got all awkward and fidgety around him until she escaped the confines of whatever room they were in.

Danny could only assume it was because she'd realized what he meant when he'd been staring into her eyes, talking to Vera, but intending a secret meaning only for Mindy. She must have realized he wasn't acting any longer, and it probably totally freaked her out. And now she couldn't even stand to be in the same room with him anymore.

Having someone be so close, and yet utterly unreachable was torture, and it hurt Danny in ways that he hadn't felt in years. Sure, he'd told himself he'd take what he could get, but right now he was getting nothing, not even her friendship. After a week or so he'd decided he couldn't take it anymore and started looking around for other practices.

He'd been quiet for too long, Jeremy's last sentence still hanging in the air between them. The Brit's eyes widened and his eyebrows raised. "Oh, my god something did happen."

Danny shifted uncomfortably, placing his hand on the back of his neck, hoping they didn't notice the sheen of perspiration on his forehead, realizing too late that he probably had some stains under his arms now that were just as incriminating. Shit.

Peter glanced back and forth between his colleagues. Confusion quickly morphing into a very Peter-esque leer. "O M G. You totes boned the lady doctor. I knew I was getting some UST from the two of you, but it's been missing for the past couple weeks. Now it's just all rainclouds and sad orphans."

Danny and Jeremy both stared at Peter in disgust. "UST?"

Peter rolled his eyes dramatically. "Unresolved sexual tension, obvi. What's the matter, Danny, couldn't perform under pressure?"

Danny's eyes widened. "What?! Of course I could perform." Shit. "That is, um, if I were to, uh, ever be in such a situation as, ahem, previously stated…"

He trailed off, his pathetic attempt at backpedalling completely useless. He'd clearly been found out, and he didn't know how to hit rewind on this awful conversation. He buried his head in his hands and groaned. Peter and Jeremy knowing about what had happened was literally a worst case scenario.

Peter was so excited he was practically vibrating in his chair. "Danny, Danny, Danny, is that why you're leaving?"

Rather than reply, Danny just stared at him. Peter continued. "Oh, broseph, way to hit and and quit it. Seriously. A plus game." He raised his hand in the air for a high five.

Jeremy noticed the flash of pain on Danny's face when Peter was talking, and he kicked his overly ebullient colleague under the table before turning back to the man sitting across from him. "Um, Danny, do you, uh, well I don't know how to put this. Are you in love with her or something?"

Danny felt a hand clutching at his chest again, he swallowed and open his mouth, fully ready to issue a confident denial, but nothing came out. Jeremy nodded, and Peter looked somewhat lost. "We won't say anything, we promise." He looked at Peter expectantly, kicking him again when he still didn't say anything.

Peter glared at Jeremy, reaching under the table to rub his shin. "Yeah, uh, we promise. Pinkie swear, like a bunch of middle school girls." He crossed his arms like petulant child, blowing out a puff of air.

Jeremy wasn't letting it go though. "But you have to have a conversation with her before you leave. Knowing you, you probably haven't told her anything, being a typical American male, and not like me, your charming and eloquent British counterpart. You can't leave it like this, whatever _this_ may be."

Danny felt defeated. It was true, well partly anyway, but the idea of just saying everything was truly daunting. His shoulders slumped and he leaned back in his seat. "Yeah, I know."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Ok, so the pacing of this story is not exactly where I thought it would be two chapters ago, but I still know where it's going to end, so trust me. I liked this chapter. I hope you do too. As always, please feel free to leave any comments you want. I love it when you tell me what you think. **

CH 19

Danny stood in his office a few minutes after agreeing to meet her in the storage room. He had to compose himself. At lunch Peter and Jeremy had given him something to think about. He knew Mindy was acting strangely, and he could only attribute it to her feeling awkward around him. The least he could do was let her know she wouldn't need to feel that way for long. He was leaving.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, resting his hands on the back of his neck, fingers interlaced. He paced in his office a little bit before stopping abruptly and to snap himself out of his anxiety spiral. This shouldn't be that hard. He knew what Mindy wanted, and he'd accepted it.

He rolled his shoulders back and took a deep breath before stepping out of his office and heading down to the hot pipe room. He pushed down the lump in his throat, and attempted to ignore the feeling of being pulled apart at the seams.

Mindy looked at the dainty little watch resting on her wrist. She'd been waiting for a good ten minutes. Was it possible that he'd just decided not to come? Sometimes Danny was dense, but she was sure he knew what she really wanted with him.

There was this bubble of hope/anxiety sitting in her chest making it hard to breathe properly. This was her last chance with Danny. If she couldn't communicate what she felt, well, he would be gone, and she would be left, yet again, with another person to add to her list of failures.

Mindy closed her eyes. She suddenly felt the urge to cry again. "No, don't do that, you can't be crying when he gets down here." The words echoed off the cinderblock walls making her feel a bit self-conscious. She cautiously opened one eye, looking around.

What should she be doing when he got down here? What flimsy excuse had she used to lure him away from the office? Oh, right, ink cartridges. She quickly pulled out a couple of boxes from the industrial shelving along one of the walls, plunking them down on the table.

She spilled a few random things across the surface and was in the process of pretending to search for something when she realized she was looking at the contents of a box of Danny's things. At first it seemed like odds and ends, but she soon realized that each thing in the box was related to her in some way.

There was the snow globe she'd gotten him for Christmas years ago. Those were early days. She'd actually gotten everyone in the office the same thing that year. She hadn't really realized it, but Danny had put the thing on his desk every year since.

She dug a little deeper and found ticket stubs. They were from the one time she'd coerced Danny into going to see some silly foreign film with her. It had been after one of the guys she was dating had implied she wasn't worldly enough. The movie had sucked, and Mindy had given up halfway through, ending up at a hot dog stand with Danny. But here were the ticket stubs.

This was so odd. Danny was not a sentimental person. Not really, and yet here were all these things. She wondered why he chose to keep them here, where she might actually stumble upon them, instead of at home. It didn't make any sense to her.

He'd even kept the form he'd filled out while attempting to be her gynecologist. She smiled at the memory, tracing her finger over the hastily scrawled "sexually active." She'd won that one. She picked it up and caught a glimpse of something familiar. She shoved her hand down in the box catching the edge of it and pulling it out.

It was the key-chain she had bought him in Santa Fe. The name _Danny_ boldly written across it in a somewhat girly font. The smile she'd been wearing while looking at these things faded away. Suddenly she knew why this box was here and not at his apartment.

Until recently that particular item had found a home swinging next to the keys Danny liked to jangle while waiting for the elevator. Every time Mindy had seen it, a fleeting thrill would go through her, and an irresistible urge to smile would assail her. But now it was here.

As she glanced over the contents again, she began to realize that pretty much everything in the box had formerly been a part of Danny's office. Little things that had sat on his desk or the shelf. Now they were relegated to the hot pipe room, and it killed her. She could picture him going through his office and collecting everything that reminded him of her and dumping it all here.

She had the keychain in her hand and was brushing her thumb back and forth across the name emblazoned on it when she heard the door behind her swing open.

He was talking before he even made it into the room. "I told you the ink cartridges were on the top shelf. If you just…"

She spun around looking at him guiltily. She felt like a snoop. He trailed off when he realized what she was looking at. "What the hell, Mindy? Those are my things! You're obviously not going to find what you're looking for in there."

He made his way over to the table and unceremoniously swept everything back into the file box, jamming the lid back on it in a rush. She still had the key-chain in her hand. He looked down at it briefly before snatching it from her and shoving it down in his pocket.

The movement broke the trance she'd been in, switching her back into warrior-mode. She spun on her heel, moving toward the door to slam it shut, quickly flipping the lock. Why was there a lock on the inside of a storage room? She shook her head, a mystery for another time.

She walked back up to Danny, pointing a finger in his face. "It's my turn to ask questions, Mr. Deceitful. When were you going to tell me you were leaving the practice?"

The indignation in Danny's face faded away, quickly replaced by a sheepish look. The truth was, he had only planned on telling Mindy he was leaving when he was already on his way out the door. He hadn't wanted a big confrontation, and he'd known there would be one. He sighed. At least this way it was semi-private.

He leaned back against the table and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Mindy, I have to leave, ok? This obviously isn't working."

She frowned but didn't say anything in response. He couldn't stand the silence so he trudged on. "The last three weeks have been awful. I'm sorry I made things so awkward for you. I know you don't…." He stopped. Actually saying the words was more than he could do. "Anyway. It's pretty much done, I'm just waiting to hear from a few of the places I contacted."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Well, you, uh, might need to cross _First Street Newark Obstetrics _off your list. I kind of told them you were a bit of a clepto."

Danny's eyebrows shot up. "What the hell, Lahiri! Why are you trying to sabotage my career?!"

Mindy became fidgety and started pacing. "You can't leave, Danny. It's not right. I mean, you're a New York guy, you can't run off to Jersey. It isn't you."

Danny was angry now. She couldn't have things both ways. She couldn't want him to stay, but also not want to have any contact with him. "You don't know me as well as you think. I don't want to be here. Not like this. This is torture. I'm leaving, and that's all there is to it."

Mindy's mind was spinning. Shit. What the hell was she supposed to do? This conversation was not going the way she'd wanted. She still hadn't said any of the things she'd meant to. It had become very hard when she realized the depth of the hurt she'd caused him. Seeing those mementos of her scattered across the dingy table had shaken her.

Just do it, Lahiri, tell him. "Well, you can't leave. I might be pregnant!" The shouted words echoed across the room, landing harshly on her ears. Shit. That was awful.

The anger on Danny's face dissipated. His mouth fell open and he pushed himself away from the table, approaching her tentatively and placing his hand on her upper arm. "What?" The word came out in a strangled yet gravelly whisper. "You're pregnant?"

Mindy kicked herself. God, why did she say stupid things. The hope in his voice made her want to crawl under a rock and die. She bit her bottom lip. Nope, this wasn't the way to do it. "That's not what I said. I said _might. _Ok."

"Mindy." The soft whisper was gone, replaced by the impatient tone of someone speaking through clenched teeth. The fingers resting lightly on her arm curled their way around her bicep, squeezing in a not so gentle manner. "Be straight with me."

Her eyes widened and she started chattering. "I mean, I'm on birth control, but statistically it's been known to happen, so it may not be probable, but it's possible, even though I have had my period, I mean, there's spotting and whatnot, and have you ever seen that show about the women who didn't know they…" She stopped when the fingers digging in her arm released. He shoved away from her.

"You are the most ridiculous person I have ever met." He stomped over to the door, and yanked at the handle, not knowing Mindy had locked it earlier. In his haste to escape the conversation they were having, Danny had pulled the thing completely from its mount on the door, effectively locking them in. "Shit!"

He turned to look at Mindy, who was still staring at him in wide eyed embarrassment. He swallowed, still angry. "Well, looks like we're locked in here. Now what?"

Mindy took in the flush of anger still on his skin, the turmoil still churning in his eyes. She took a deep breath. Now what indeed.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: This is the last chapter guys. It's a doozy of a long one (comparatively) and i need to issue a Smut warning, and also an unrepentant fluff warning :P... Ok. I'm really happy to have concluded this one, and I'm super excited about the show coming back (i hope they give me more material to work with :D). Also, a few people have been sending me Beta fics to read for them, and man, I have to tell you, it's the best thing ever. If anyone else wants me to do the same, please feel free to ask. And, as always I love to hear what you have to say, so don't be shy about commenting and reviewing. It's been fun.**

CH 20

Danny dropped the handle to the floor. It echoed in the silence. He couldn't look at her. He faced the door, giving all his concentration to the dilemma at hand. He bent down enough to peer through small hole where the handle had been.

He felt a soft touch on his shoulder. "Danny…" She didn't say anything else. He shrugged off the attention and stuck his fingers in the hole searching for the release latch. Nothing.

Without taking his eyes from the problem in front of him he asked her something else. "Why would you lie about something like that?" He spoke without meaning to, an unintended note of hurt filtering through his voice. He was still feeling dizzy from her exclamation and then sudden refutation of it. Joy had coursed through him before he could check his reaction, and still he hadn't been able to keep the awe out of his voice. He'd wanted it to be true, even though it would have been a huge mess. Her backpedaling had jerked the rug out from under him, making him feel desperate.

He could hear her pacing behind him. He glanced over her shoulder to catch a quick glimpse of her as she was turned away from him, wringing her hands in fretfulness. He turned his attention back to the door.

"It wasn't technically… I mean, Danny. I'm sorry. I just wanted… Alright, I'm ridiculous, ok? It's not like you didn't know that already." There was a note of self-loathing in her voice, and Danny felt guilty for a moment, before he shook himself out of it. How did this always happen? She acted crazy and impulsive and somehow he was always the one making nice in the end.

He hooked his index and middle finger around the edge of the hole and yanked on it. He knew it was pointless, but he continued to pull at it in frustration. The muscles in his back bunching in the effort.

He twisted around to face her, red in the face from his exertions and breathing hard. "Why the hell did you lock it?" He released the door and turned to face her head on. "I mean, really, what purpose does that serve?" He poured all the frustration he felt into the small problem in front of him, ignoring its true cause.

He expected her to respond in a similar fashion, eyes sparking, jaw set, but she just looked at him with a soft, almost sad, expression on her face. Was it pity? Hell, he couldn't handle that. He felt a scowl settle across his features. "Huh? You have nothing to say? That has to be a first. Let me call the Guinness Book of World Records. This has to be the longest you've ever been silent."

That worked, a bit. The soft expression faded away and her eyebrows furrowed a little, leaving that tiny wrinkle on her forehead. That little wrinkle, the one he saw at least twice a day while she was passionately arguing with him, or worrying about the state of her love life. She still didn't say anything, but rather took a couple steps toward him, almost menacingly.

He swallowed. As she neared him it became difficult to maintain his irritation. It was a façade he'd thrown up to keep the pain at bay, and it was starting to slip. She took yet another step toward him, almost completely closing the space between them. He could smell the perfume she wore, a warm tropical scent, and he imagined he could feel body heat radiating from her form.

Mindy studied his face, much preferring his combative state to the somewhat defeated look she'd seen moments earlier. Suddenly she felt stupid, trying to coerce him into stating his feelings again. It really wasn't fair. She had rejected him, and she couldn't expect him to go out on that limb again.

She raised both her hands and rested them gently on his shoulders, squeezing slightly, as though testing how tense he was. The knotted muscles in his shoulders began to relax as she searched his eyes for an answer to the question she'd been afraid to ask. The look she found there was so expectant and guardedly hopeful. She felt the fear she'd been carrying around evaporate. "I didn't want you to leave."

He couldn't think coherently with her so close. He almost missed the gently spoken words. When their meaning finally registered, he was still confused. "The storage room?"

She looked down for a second, as though contemplating what to say next. She pressed herself into him, resting her head against his shoulder, nestling her nose in the hollow of his throat. "The storage room, the building, the practice, New York." She paused, her last word coming out in an almost inaudible sigh against his skin. "Me."

His hands, resting in fists at his side, suddenly unclenched. His arms, seemingly of their own volition, encircled her, clutching her to him desperately. He couldn't help himself. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. He felt her hands release his shoulders and her arms thread their way around his neck.

There was still a problem. Some persistent niggling thought in the back of his head. Nothing had changed. She had still left him in Boston alone. She had still basically rejected his offer of love. He couldn't do this if it was just her version of friendship. He needed more.

He moved his hands from her back until they rested on her arms, and he slowly pushed her away. It was probably the hardest thing he had ever done. He felt a thickness in his throat, and the tell-tale sting of tears at the back of his eyes. He cleared his throat and blinked away the moisture. "What are we doing? You left, remember?"

She looked up at him, biting her bottom lip. "Say it again."

He frowned in confusion. "Say what again?"

She blinked rapidly and swallowed, as though suffering from the same affliction as himself. "Say _it_ again." The added inflection given to the second word was reinforced in the intensity of her gaze when she uttered it.

He nodded slowly, understanding setting in. "Our friendship has never sat well with me."

She nodded emphatically, encouraging him to continue.

He took a shaky breath. "And when the men you date hurt you, it kills me."

He could see the tears pooled in her eyes, her lip quivering slightly. He reached out for her, but she stepped back. "No, please, say it all." Her voice broke slightly as she made her request, the pooled tears in her eyes spilling over when she blinked.

He nodded slowly. "I've fallen in love with you, and you don't even—"

She cut him off, lunging forward, throwing her arms around his neck and attacking his lips. Kissing him desperately, threading her fingers up through the back of his hair, tugging at it. She pulled away from him, panting. "I do know it. I do, and it's astonishing to me." The tears were rolling down her face in a flood. "I'm sorry I ran, but I was afraid. I, I felt it too, and it scared me, because I thought it had happened in the space of two days, and that it couldn't be real." She was sobbing now. "But Danny, it didn't happen that way. You were so important to me already, and I was so oblivious." She gasped out the last word.

He opened his mouth to say something but she shook her head. "I didn't know you felt that way too, but then I saw all of those things." She slipped her hand between them, darting into his pocket to retrieve the keychain. She held it up between them, the hook looped around her ring finger. "You kept them, Danny, and some of that stuff is from years ago. How long have you wanted…" She trailed off, staring up at him in awe.

He wrapped his hands around her waist, picking her up and carrying her the few feet between the door and table, lifting her up onto the smooth surface. "Too long."

He ran his fingertips along the exposed skin at her collar, fingering the buttons at the top, quickly undoing them he slipped his fingers beneath her blouse. She closed her eyes, relishing the feather light touch. A smile spread across her face. "Danny, you're my best friend, and I love you and you love me back." There was a giddy tremble in her words. She pulled back from his touch. "You know what this means don't you?"

He paused, breaking away from her, his head foggy with desire. "What does it mean?" He could hear the impatience in his voice. "Mindy?"

She smiled, wrapping her legs around his waist, drawing closer. "It means that my life is better than a Julia Roberts movie." She tugged at the buckle of his belt, kissing him urgently, panting between pecks. "And you're better than Dermot Mulroney could ever be." She pulled the belt free and tugged the hem of his button down free, skimming the exposed ski beneath his navel with her fingertips.

He chuckled, and slipped his hand under the hem of her skirt. It had ridden up as she scooted forward on the table. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She shivered at his touch on her inner thigh. He hooked his index finger under the elastic of her panties and pulled them down, skimming his knuckles across her knee as he slipped them down her legs. Her mind was fuzzy, but she was still chattering on. "Oh, then we have to watch it tonight. If you've never seen _My Best Friend's Wedding…_" She knew there was something she wanted to say, but the heat pooled in her stomach and the tingling up her spine overrode everything else

He leaned forward and nuzzled against her collar bone, leaving a trail of wet kisses up to her neck, stopping to nibble at her ear. His hot breath on her skin made her writhe impatiently beneath him. She wanted to feel him against her. The memory of the night in Boston had plagued her for weeks, and now that he was near again, it was almost too much for her to handle. She was already breathing heavily. "Danny, can we just…" The words came out hoarsely.

He needed no further encouragement. He'd been completely ready to have his way with her from the moment she'd wrapped her legs around him. He unzipped, freeing himself just enough, not bothering to completely shuck off his clothing.

It was the kind of thing he rarely did, this frenzied lovemaking, but the situation he found himself in was unlike any he'd ever experienced. He leaned forward, hands grasping her hips through the silken fabric of her skirt, and captured her lips in a hungry kiss.

She responded in kind, alternately pulling at his hair and impatiently twisting the collar of his shirt. The keychain in her hand clattering to the floor. It was all a bit thrilling, and so very Mindy. Having sex in the hot pipe room, when someone could bang on the door looking for them at any moment. He smiled at the memory of his former self. He would have completely balked at the idea with anyone else, but it seemed so perfect with her.

She felt the curve of his lips under her own and pulled back to take a quick look at him. He continued to grin, his deep brown eyes sparkling with something she'd never seen before. Suddenly she couldn't wait any longer. She wrapped her legs around him, digging her heels into him urging him forward. His eyes widened and after only a second's hesitation he pushed her skirt up more and plunged into her.

She arched back, savoring the feeling for a moment before rocking her hips against his. Mindy was a woman of science. She knew how the female body worked, she knew it wasn't always fireworks, and that sometimes you had to work at it, but in all of her life she'd never felt things escalate so quickly. Within minutes she was panting against the side of his neck too incoherent to continue kissing. She dug her fingernails into his back through the cotton of his shirt, urging him to go faster between gasps.

She was conscious of where they were, and truly attempted to be quiet, and yet that only intensified things more. Danny's grip on her hips would have been painful in any other situation, but the somewhere in her brain the wires had gotten all crossed and it only added to her pleasure as he rocked into her. She finally mounted that final crest of sensation, crying out in spite of her efforts to keep quiet.

Feeling her tighten around him, all the muscles in her body briefly spasming, was the final straw for Danny, he thrust into her one last time, burying his face in her neck, resisting the urge to bite down on the skin exposed to him as a floral yet musky scent invaded his nostrils.

Both spent and panting, they clung to one another, Mindy still supported by the table, and Danny leaning into her. She felt his chest bump up against hers with each deep inhalation she heard by her ear. As they heart rates began to slow, Mindy traced circles on Danny's back with her finger tip, resting her chin on his shoulder and absentmindedly letting out little sighs of contentment.

Danny pressed his lips against her shoulder in an affectionate touch, lingering for a moment before pulling back. "Now I remember why I'd always though doing this kind of thing was a bad idea."

She raised one eyebrow, curious as to what his answer would be. He leaned forward, landing a swift kiss on her lips before leaning back to button his shirt again. "Now we have to go back to the office, and pretend like none of this ever happened. We have to pretend that we didn't just have two pretty mind blowing orgasms, and just sit at our desks and do paperwork for the next couple of hours. We have to pretend that we aren't watching the clock, just waiting for the hands to finally settle at five so we can bolt out of here and continue where we left off."

She smiled. Cocking her head to the side. "Why Danny, it looks as though we just couldn't find those ink cartridges. Someone will have to go pick up some more, right?"

He looked at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, there are things that need to be printed urgently."

"And you just can't trust me to get the right ones. I guess you'll have to come along." She pushed herself off the table and buttoned her blouse then straightened her skirt, attempting to smooth the wrinkles out of it.

Danny stood still for a moment. "Uh, Min. How are we going to get out of here?"

She looked puzzled for a second, before her eyes widened in what was clearly an unspoken "Eureka!" She beamed at him. "There's still a phone down here from when it was my office, and a phone line. We'll just call up and have them come rescue us."

An hour later when they were finally released from the hot pipe room, Danny paused before he went through the door. Seeing the keychain lying on the floor he bent down and picked it up, quickly pocketing it. His eyes moved over to rest on the box sitting on the table in the middle of the room. It's hastily jammed on lid sitting slightly askew.

"Danny, what's taking you so long? You'd think you'd be eager to get the hell out of there." Mindy had called out from the hallway.

"Sorry, I forgot something." He swiftly scooped up the box, feeling slightly pleased by its heft, and strode confidently back to the door. A swell of happiness expanded in his chest. He finally had everything he needed.


End file.
